The Fate That Binds Us
by Shapeshifter89
Summary: (NO SEX INVOLVED) Part two of the Rainy Night Series: It had all began on one, rainy night. A love blossomed and a jealous leader attempted to end it. Zim and Gaz now have to make their way to planets Vort, Plookesia, and Nhar-Gh'Ok, along with their friends to get their species to fight against the Irken Empire. Join them as their love brings the universe to the brink of war!
1. On my way

**A/N: 'Sup guys! The start of a glorious saga has begun! Enjoy chapter one of this new hit fanfic: The Fate That Binds Us, part of the Rainy Night series! WOOP WOOP!**

_It had all began on one, rainy night; two souls, one human, the other alien; unknowingly had bound their lives to each other. As the fates allowed it, they had fallen under the magical spell of love. Denial created a wall between them; betrayal caused the wall to expand. War broke out amongst their races, and in defeat the leader of the aliens took the human girl as a prize. Lies were soon brought to truth, and actions were soon forgiven, so the wall fell between the two lovers; welcoming them into an embrace. The leader did not approve of this, but had made a deal with the girl. She had to become his mate in exchange, her lover would live. Her lover would not have it and soon escaped with the assistance of the girl's brother and his friends. Now they were on the run from the crazed leader; hoping to receive assistance from the allies they planned to make._

Gaz sighed and shifted uncomfortably in the transport ship that her brother, Agent Nessie, and her shared. The ship was only meant for two Irkens; not three _tall_ humans. Therefore, it was a tight squeeze; her frame was pressedagainst her brother's side and the glass window; _jeez_ was she uncomfortable. Her eye twitched; she had been like this for four days; her legs were numb from loss of blood flow; her hair was greasy; and everyone in the small, compact ship needed a shower! Too bad she didn't have any space to lift her hand up to plug her nose from the ghastly scent. She was losing it.

"Dib! When the FUCK are we going to get out of here?! I can't take being in here for one more minute!" she said angrily; losing her temper.

"Ow Gaz! No need to scream in my ear!" Dib whined, saddened by the fact her had no room to rub his ear.

"Oh, I'm sorry…BUT I'M SO SQUISHED THAT I HAVE NO ROOM TO SCREAM ANYWHERE ELSE!" she roared; Dib could have sworn his ears were bleeding now. He sighed and wiggled his arm out of the small window of space, using it to press a few buttons on the keypad of the ship. After doing so, a holographic map lit up in a 3D model; showing him where they were and how far they had left to go. Dib observed the 3D image for a few moments, and made a noise of relief; shutting the map down, he turned to Gaz.

"It's only five more hours away Gaz, we'll be there soon." He stated hopefully. Gaz's eye twitched and after a moment of silence, she bashed her head against her brother's skull; causing him to squeal in pain. The force of the blow resulted in Dib getting shoved into Agent Nessie; who's grip on the steering mechanism, when pushed, moved the ship into a flipping motion. Nessie quickly recovered from the unexpected maneuver, then stared intently at the bickering siblings; Dib backed away while Gaz gave an even deadlier glare. Nessie and Gaz returned to their normal positions.

"You guys okay?" a message from the intercom asked, the voice belonging to Zita.

"Yeah, were fine, just slipped that's all!" Dib answered back. Gaz looked back to Dib who was using his free hand in order to rub his skull furiously. A small, reflexive tear fell. Gaz rolled her eyes; her brother was _such_ a whiner.

"Sorry, I just don't think five hours is such a short time. I feel like exploding at any moment in this stupid tiny ship…" she apologized, and Dib nodded.

"I understand, but you still didn't have to head-butt me!" he complained; Gaz 'hmphed' and turned away.

"I _said_ I was _sorry_…" she said sarcastically. Dib was going to respond, but decided against it; she was probably agitated for _another _reason. _Zim…_Gaz whispered in her mind. She had been worrying about her green love since the minute they departed. She couldn't stand being away from him; not like this; not even knowing what was happening to him; if he was safe. He could end up in danger and she wouldn't even know. The thought of him being hurt only made it worse. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw him; she would try to clean her mind, but her mind was constantly worrying about him. She wasn't sure about what _would_ happen, but she was certain of one thing: once this was over, she would have her Zim back; she would see him again. With that thought, she smiled; suddenly overcome with lassitude, she let her eyelids fall; welcoming dreams about her love; her everything.

*o*

Zim grimaced and scratched his green head; he was getting antsy and agitated. Pressing a button, he allowed the ship to go on auto pilot as he went to stand up and walk around. He walked over to a compartment where his typed something onto the keypad; it lit up and displayed pictures of food, after a moment of contemplation, Zim chose some curly fries. The machine buzzed and rapidly moved, making his food choice with ten seconds; dinging when it was finished. Zim reached his hand out, grabbing the plate of curly fries and proceeded to move back to the front of the ship. He sat, lonely in the pilot seat, eating the fries slowly. It didn't matter how tasty they were, he still couldn't stop thinking about her: Gaz. He had missed her dearly and knew that this was the best way to keep her safe, but why did he have to feel so empty and worried? Maybe it was because he had no sure fire way to protect her at this moment. If something was happening right now, he wouldn't know. It bothered him that he couldn't protect the woman he loved at every moment. He knew she could take care of herself and shouldn't be worried, but if they worked together, _no one_ would be able to harm any of them. So, it bothered him. He loved her dearly and would hate himself if anything were to happen to her…_No, _he said to himself, _I won't let that happen!_ Zim was determined to quickly get help from the people of Nhar-Gh'Ok, once they were on his side, he would quickly meet again with his love; then he wouldn't have to worry. Zim sighed, replaying their whole love story in his mind, remembering how soft her skin was, how beautiful her eyes were, and the warmth of her love. A smile of content spread across his face as he slowly drifted into sleep; his last glimpse was of the Irken clock; only seventeen more hours till he arrived at Nhar-Gh'Ok.

*o*

"My mighty Irken soldiers…" a crazed Red announced through his teeth, smiling, trying to mask his anger. Red had gathered _all_ of the Irken soldiers, even the ones on Earth, to a crucial announcement. His fury that involved Zim taking his lover away from him had caused an obsessive and insane side of Red to emerge. As Purple stood next to him, he couldn't help but cower in fear of the overwrought and cracked aura that emanated from his once good friend. It scared him. Purple listened to the announcement from a safe three feet away. "You have bear witnessed a great dishonor from one of your Irken brethren. Though some of you may have respected him as the General of the Irken Empire, the traitor needs to be stopped and executed! You all know who I speak of…Zim!" Red seethed, his powerful voice, riling up the crowd. Red wasn't just going to kill Zim, oh no, once they found him, he would make him suffer for his so called betrayal. "He has betrayed us!" he continued, "Taking your powerful Queen, and claiming her to be his!" he rose up his hand showing the bandage of the wound that he was so 'wrongly' given. "Look what he has done! Attacking one of the Tallests is a crime punishable by death! He has deceived all of us! Masquerading as one of us! A true Irken has honor, something that Zim completely lacks! Are we going to let such a low creature live and soil our Queen?!" Many 'no's' and other words of disapproval followed the statement. Red smiled darkly, _hmm, these fools are so easily controlled…_he thought to himself. He cleared his throat and went on, "This is why I have renounced Zim's title and place his title on a worthier Irken! My soldiers behold your new General: Tak!" The crowd cheered as the female Irken marched proudly to Tallest Red; kneeling before him. This was it, she had been waiting for this moment all her life.

Yes, all her life she had wanted this; to work for this. She wanted Red to notice her incredible abilities, even as a cadet in the Academy she had beaten all the records just to impress him; just to get to this moment. She closed her dark purple eyes; taking in the glory of this moment.

"Rise, great and honorable Tak, you've no need to bow to me." Red said.

"I kneel before you, for your power will be always greater than mine. To not bow would be shameful." She replied. Red was satisfied with her answer; truly she would make the perfect general. He reached down and grabbed her hand, lifting her up to see him. A dark shade of emerald came across her cheeks; her squiddly spooch clenched in her chest. Taking a medal off his uniform, he placed it on her own. She gazed at the medal with awe; it was in the shape of the moon of Taurus; glistening gems decorating the lustrous metal, with a blood red ribbon. Red let go of her hand and continued; her hand reached up to touch the beautiful medal. It was so fascinating and beautiful that Tak didn't hear much of Red's speech; it was only till the end of it that caught her attention.

"We are in need of volunteers to catch that pathetic Zim and his accomplices; who among you feels worthy enough to behold this honorable task?" He questioned the soldiers. Without a second to pass, Tak quickly stepped forward; hand in the air.

"I would be an honor for me to take this mission my Tallest." She announced, bowing slightly. Red was pleased, and smiled, turning back to the crowd.

"Your new general has taken up this great mission, who is great enough to join her?" he asked them. Immediately, Irken soldiers began to come out of their ranks and approach them. Red smiled this was perfect, just perfect! The bloodthirsty barbarians were of great use in a mission like this, not to mention the new general was smart; genius even. Her intelligence had caught his attention long ago, but he hadn't really an Irken general; in fact, he didn't even need one now. The Tallests hadn't had a general in centuries because the Tallests usually could govern their armies themselves. He only needed this position for appearances; Tak was well liked by the soldiers; they would gladly follow her. She was incredibly clever and skilled in battle; she was useful for any task. She was extremely useful and, what's more, he knew she would never go against his word; she would do anything for him. He watched as he saw her bow her head quickly to attempt to hide something, but it was caught by Red. A smile, she was smiling at him. _Naïve little female, what you desire is foolish, and laughable, it will never be, _Red thought. He looked at the cheering soldiers and the trigger happy volunteers. _Gaz, they will find you, take you, and bring you to me. You are mine, and I destroy people who take away my things…_

Purple watched in horror as his red friend smiled evilly his razor sharp teeth glistening in bloodlust. He could see it in his eyes: the madness. The blood colored orbs glowed with it. He could feel the madness radiate off his body. It was obvious; this obsession with the human female was driving him mad. His increase in violence and bloodlust only added to Purple's fear. His friend was vanishing and being replaced with a crazed, wild animal. This situation was going too far, the girl was of no use, why start a war over one person? But the consolations he had given so far resulted in screaming and violent antics. They were already down six service drones. Red was entirely unpredictable now, how could Purple impede on this? If he tried to advise against it, he could be renounced the position of Tallest and then he surely would have people bully him again; he didn't want that; he didn't want to be hurt again. So he would allow Red to continue this deadly and crazy task. Hopefully when it ended things could go back to the way they were…

**A/N: Hey peoples, enjoy it? I'm pleased with it I guess, it's not fantastic but it sure opens up the story. The Red and Tak thing is evil isn't it? Red, you're such an a-hole. (By the way this isn't RAPR or PARR or whatever they were just friends, okay?) **


	2. Welcome to Vort

**A/N: I've decided to split up the teams (Humans, Zim, and Tallests/Irken) into their own specific chapters.**

"OPEN THE DOORS, _NOW!_" Gaz demanded; Dib pressed a button and the cockpit burst open, and Gaz proceeded to jump out of it; her legs numb and shaky from the long trip to planet Vort. She was glad that the space suits they were wearing enabled them to breathe normally on this mysterious planet. She saw another ship that Zita and Torque had been traveling in land next to their own. They both climbed out, stretching and commenting with her brother and Agent Nessie. While still in space, they had split themselves up: Mary, Dirge, Agent Tunaghost, and Agent Disembodied head were sent to Plookesia while the rest of them would go to Vort. She blinked her eyes and quickly looked to the left; she saw several hovering vehicles quickly approach. Agent Nessie, Torque, and Zita quickly went into battle mode; taking their weapons out; taking aim at the unknown beings. "You idiots, we have a note from Zim! If you take out your weapons they'll be suspicious!" Gaz chided harshly, giving them a hateful glare. They realized their error and lowered their weapons. The hovering vehicles were only moments away now; Dib was growing weary.

"Gaz, what do we do then?" Dib probed, observing that the drivers of the vehicles were Irken.

"Keep calm and let me do the talking." She answered as the vehicles surrounded them. The Irkens jumped out of the vehicles pointing threatening looking weapons at the humans. Everyone but Gaz was skeptical and uneasy. Gaz was calm and collected, as if she had nothing to hide. The taller of the Irkens approached them, unarmed. It had been observed by Gaz that the Irken was clearly female. Her white battle suit was elaborate and sharp; indicating she was highly ranked; probably the leader of this group. She had striking orange eyes; which reminded Gaz of the sun. Her antennae were swirled but curled outward. The smile on her face was arrogant, as if to say, 'gotcha'. She approached Gaz, assuming she was the leader of this little rag-tag group of strange beings.

"State your race and reason for entering the planet Vort's atmosphere without consent." The Irken commanded. Up close, Gaz noticed that the Irken female was as almost as tall as she was; granted 5'5 wasn't the best height, but Gaz could see now why height was so important to the members of the Irken race; it was intimidating. Gaz took a breath of air, straightening her back to appear taller; she reached into her pocket to pull out a small sphere. She twirled it in her hands as she spoke:

"We are humans, and we have been given permission to come here by general Zim himself!" she replied coolly, handing her the sphere. The Irken female took it gradually, irritated slightly by this so called, "human". Squeezing the sphere, a holographic image that looked like paper appeared from it; Irken writing sprawled over it. The Irken slowly read and re-read the contents of the letter; shocked about the words it held within. The Irken cleared her throat before speaking.

"My apologies," she bowed, "I had no idea that the general's colonels were coming in to inspect the planet." Gaz raised an eyebrow in curiosity; she could tell the Irken was put off by something.

"What is it? Are you doubtful of the general's statement? Going against his word is almost as bad as going against the Tallests word." Gaz warned, but the Irken shook her head and bowed again.

"It's nothing; it's just; other species are usually slaves to the Irken Empire, not appointed to high positions. Your people must be highly skilled in warfare in order to be appointed to such high ranks." The Irken began to stare suspiciously, but Gaz lowered a deadly glare at her.

"Are you skeptical of our skills?" Gaz asked darkly punching the ground with so much force a gaping hole appeared in the ground. The female Irken whimpered in fear and shook her head violently.

"N-n-no! Of course not! You are welcomed by us colonel…?"

"Gaz, Colonel Gaz Membrane." Gaz finished for her. The Irken nodded.

"Of course, Colonel Gaz Membrane, allow us to take you into the Vortion city of Vetena; there, you may have rest from your long journey and begin your inspection as soon as you would like." The Irken bowed respectfully, extending her hand toward the hovering vehicles; ordering her soldiers to lower their weapons. Gaz nodded and made her way to the strange vehicles; the others following her, getting into the hovering crafts and watched as other Irkens entered their transport ships to fly them to their destination.

As the ride to the Vortion city of Vetena went on, Gaz noticed how beautiful and strange this planet was. The rocky planet quickly became a metallic jungle, the houses, the markets, even the ground became a huge mass of steel. Gaz was awed when the female Irken, whose name was found out to be Zeena upon asking, pointed out the city. It was glorious; colossal buildings of metal rose everywhere, the Irken symbol plastered on every side, every screen; everywhere. The colors were dazzling; reds and blues; purples and greens; it was spectacular. The Zeena grinned at the human colonel's astonishment; maybe if she impressed them enough she could be promoted! The vehicles pulled to a halt as they arrived at the largest building in the city. Gaz looked as that horrid symbol of the Irken Empire was painted on the building. Gaz's eyes burned at the symbol, how she loathed that symbol; that symbol that almost became a sign that she was owned by the Empire. She wanted nothing more than to burn that building down and tear apart the rest of the horrible insignia's, but she had to keep calm and keep up this act. The sooner she could get this over with, the sooner she would see Zim. The thought of seeing him again gave her strength to not burn down the city, and all of the damned Irkens in it. Zeena led the "colonels" into the building where they were quickly treated with the upmost respect, politely being led into the dining area where they were served like royalty.

Zeena explained to them that they were at the Irken headquarters, built as soon as Invader Larb had conquered the planet. She went on, trying to impress the impersonating colonel's by describing the materials the planet provided for the Empire and the great working power the Vortion's provided. Throughout the blabbing, Gaz nodded and tried to act interested, but she was concentrating on finding out how to get the Vortions to fight with them. I mean, sure, they, together, outnumbered the Irkens, but all the advanced weaponry made them impossible to fight. The captain went on telling of the Vortion's intelligence in technology and how many weapons had already been designed for the Irken Empire. With the mention of this, Gaz's intrest perked up. If it was true that the people of Vort constructed the weapons, they obviously knew how to work them, even possibly the weakness of the weapons. This caused Gaz to hum in thought. She glanced over to her accomplices. Dib was intently listening to Zeena's words as Zita conversed with Agent Nessie; Torque was just stuffing himself with the food and Gaz made a mental note to end him for his incredible stupidity. _At least act like a colonel for fuck's sake! _She shouted in her mind.

"So, I can assure you, you shall find Vort to be in entirely perfect condition in your inspection!" Zeena finished. Gaz hmm'd and looked at the orange eyed Irken quickly recovering from her distracted attention. She coughed awkwardly and looked back to the Irken captain.

"Yes, yes, of course. Well, we should begin our inspection…" she stated calmy, standing up from the dining seat and turned to walk out, but the Irken captain stopped her.

"W-wait! Perhaps the colonels wish to rest first from the long journey! After all, you want to be fully alert in order to be, uh, accurate in your inspection of the planet!" she said frantically. It was clear that she wanted every chance she could get to make sure she was well like; giving her a better chance to be promoted. Gaz wasn't thrilled though. Zim had said it took six days in order for the message from the empire to send the message of their escape. One needs more then forty-eight hours to take back a conquered planet, and the sooner they started the better. Gaz shook her head and informed the captain that the quicker the inspection was, the sooner they could return to the Massive for the report. Zenna searched her brain for anything to prevent them from leaving; if she could show them how hospitable she was, perhaps they would put in a good word for her to the Tallests. "Your ships are not yet ready for launching; therefore, you must stay! I assure you we have the best service in the galaxy, what could it hurt to start tomorrow morning?" the female Irken queried hopefully. Gaz realized there was no arguing with an Irken; she should have known that by now. She sighed and nodded her head in approval. The captain was overjoyed and led the colonels to the most elaborate and elegant rooms for them to stay. Dib walked and stood behind Gaz as she was shown her room. Gaz could tell he wanted to say something, but she stopped him.

"We'll talk tomorrow…Colonel Dib, for now; let's take the advice of the captain and rest." Gaz stated; Dib was about to say something, but decided that Gaz was probably right. Her underlying tones told him that the Irkens would only want to hear their conversation and it would be better if they had privacy before speaking. So with a nod, Dib walked out of Gaz's room, leaving the Irken captain, Zeena in there with her.

"I hope that you enjoy your stay here on Vort!" she said. Gaz turned to her and nodded.

"Thank you for your generosity, you're dismissed." Gaz answered. The Irken bowed and left the room making a silent 'yes' as she exited. She was _so _getting a promotion. Gaz collapsed on the hovering bed and groaned with stress. How the hell was this all going to play out in the end? What if none of this worked and this was all for not? What if she couldn't do it? She buried her face into a pillow. What if she failed? She was about to cry when she started thinking about Zim. She knew if he was here right now he would tell her to stop thinking such stupid thoughts and to get those brain worms out of her skull. She smiled, if Zim believed she could do this; then she knew she could. She silently hoped Zim was alright too and she suddenly became sleepy. She decided that a good sleep would help her. Her eyes slowly closed, allowing sleep to envelop her. Perhaps she could find a way to take back this planet in a dream…

**A/N: Short chapter. Filler. I don't care what you think, at least they're on Vort. :P**


	3. Manipulation

**A/N: Disclaimer again I don't own the characters Jhonen Vasquez does blah blah blah. I did awesome in my play, hookers be trippin', I'm tired, whatever, no one reads my damn author notes anyway. EVERYBODY GOT TIME TO READ THESE AUTHORS NOTES! I swear, "sea horses, forever!"**

Three hundred and seventy-six, that was the number of Irken soldiers who'd decided to join the fight to get their queen back. Three hundred and seventy-six brooding mongrels who practically were bloodlust incarnate. Their skills in battle were a force to be reckoned with; being the most elite military race, any Irken smeet who had fallen even a point low on the Academy's final test, would either be put to death, or become a service drone. The incredibly evolved species only had one problem: most of them were stupid. They were moronic, and Tak couldn't find a reason for their seemingly increasing idiocy. It seemed to her that every single race of being she had come to know were all INCREDIBLY stupid. Her eye twitched at the mere notion of human intelligence; if they even have a _word_ for that. She was on a balcony in the Massive's docking bay; overlooking the many ships that were quickly preparing for the mission. She observed her preparing fleet now; the head-butting males chuckled dumbly in their actions and Tak just wanted to shoot herself. _Everyone in the universe is a total idiot! Except for me…and…and…_her mind drifted, images of her crimson leader clouded her senses and she felt her cheeks grow warm…_Red…_she sighed dreamily, but then heard a lurid crash come from below. She quickly looked down below from the balcony, fearing the worse, only to see another pair of males hooting hysterically in a joking manner; they had tipped over some provisions. Tak's eye began to twitch and she cracked her neck stressfully; Irk how she _loathed_ everyone. _Everyone but Red,_ she reminded herself. She felt her body relax at the thought of him. Tak frowned slightly; their mission was to go and destroy Zim, shouldn't she be happy about that? She assumed she should at least have a minor hint of content, but the complete empty and dark feeling that surrounded her reminded her of her _true_ mission: to bring Gaz, their_ queen_, back. The mere thought of the doleful Earth female infuriated her. How could Red, of all Irkens, _want_ a female of another species as a mate, let alone a _human_ mate? It was lucid; insane! Take gripped the railing of the balcony; squeezing it tightly as she imagined her fingers around the pathetic worm-child's neck; feeling that distasteful and dark prowess as she imagined the light from the Earth female's amber eyes as her last breath was taken from her in a painfully slow manner. How, no, _why_ did Red possess feelings for the pathetic girl? Sure, Tak had encountered her before; the girl had been vile and dark, but Tak was much more than that…Tak was vicious, forbidding, malevolent, and wicked, her purple eyes were as dark as her soul and her aura could easily kill. Yes, truthfully Tak must be a greater evil than this so called, "violet-haired demon child". Truthfully, Tak _must_ be worthier; shouldn't she?

Tak tensed and swung around as she, in fear, looked into a pair of blood-red eyes. Red had approached her wordlessly and she had been completely unaware of his presence, even as he put a three digit hand on her shoulder. She cursed inwardly, her skills as an invader should have detected him sooner, if she wasn't so…distracted. She looked at the smiling Tallest's face and tried to prevent the emerald hue in her cheeks from forming. Red removed his hand from her shoulder and laced his hands behind his back; he too, overlooking the scene occurring in the docking bay. The previous pressure from his hand lingered on her shoulder and she scolded herself for wanting his hand to stay there; maybe even wanting it to touch other places on her body. The thought made her face burn in embarrassment.

"They're all idiots aren't they?" she heard his luscious and velvety voice croon. She wanted to savor the sound of his voice, only nodding in response as to not taint the moment with her plain voice. She stared at her towering leader and wondered silently about what his features would look like without his armor on. Were his muscles well defined? Did he have any scars? Did he have chiseled features? The thoughts of him were endless in her mind and she couldn't seem to control them; no matter how much of her invader will told her to stop. He continued and she could only close her eyes and listen to his sweet and lovely voice. "They are not like you Tak, you are crafty, tactical, and are full of cunning as well as skill. This is why I have chosen you for this role as general; this is why I am so incredibly pleased that you volunteered for this mission, I wouldn't trust anyone else with _my_ _little Gaz." _He name on his tongue caused her to scowl and resist the urge to snarl; here he had just complimented her with his darling voice and now ruined the moment by mentioning her. She was angered with herself; why was she being so selfish? She served her leader no matter what he asked of her, and her own selfish desires were obscuring her duty to serve her Tallest. She knew she wanted to be _more_ than just his servant, but she had no choice. Her antennae lowered slightly, but perked up as Red placed his hand in the same spot of her shoulder as before, and she felt herself resisting the color from rising to her cheeks. He leaned in from his towering height to her left antenna; his lips almost brushing the sensitive appendage; his hot breath softly caressing the side of her face; goose bumps forming on her body. "I _don't _trust anyone else, but _you_…" he whispered quietly to her, and she shivered from his words.

Those words, what did they mean? Did it mean that he trusted her more than his mate, Gaz? He had to have meant that! The thought of _her_ being the only trustworthy one made her squiddly spooch soar with content. Irk how she longed for the moment when she could be by his side; the miniscule seconds she spent like this with him. The warmth of his subtle touches made her feel incredible, special. She was disappointed though; he wanted _her_, his mate. Even though Tak had basically slaved over her life just to be even remotely close to him, and even when that moment had been achieved, he wanted to be by someone else; with someone else. She turned her hooded eyes toward him; his lips curled into a lavish smile, and she smiled back. Even if he didn't reciprocate what she felt for him, she still would do as he wished. Not because he was her Tallest, but because she would do it to please him.

"As you should my Tallest, and I assure you, your mate will be escorted with the most finest respect and Zim will be destroyed…" she replied, her voice strong, but her legs weak under her gaze. Red smiled curtly, resisting the urge to laugh. Irk! It was _so _easy! Manipulating others was just a snap to him! His devilish charm and charismatic nature made him very popular with the inhabitants of Irk and a incredibly dangerous Irken. He was born to be a leader, and the power of manipulation was a force to be reckoned with. To make anyone do what you want so simply, without any consequences, it was delicious. Tak was completely unaware that his teasing was only getting her to do what he wanted. Of course he knew of her feelings for him, it was blatantly obvious. He would use her to his advantage; all he had to do was touch her, whisper something sweet and she would be eating out of the palm of his hand. He nodded to her and patted her shoulder gently, turning away to exit the balcony. Take looked back at him and he paused as the sliding doors opened.

"And Tak," he said calmly without turning to her, "be _sure_ not to fail me."

"I will not my Tallest." She quickly replied, bowing her head to him. She couldn't see, but he smiled evilly as he walked out from the balcony. After going a few paces away he began to giggle insanely, his laugh continuing to grow into a maniacal laughter.

"You will be _mine~_ soon you will be in _my_ clutches again~ when that happens I hope you're ready for what I have in store for you~" he giggled as his mind lustily raced of images of Gaz and himself engulf his very being.

**A/N: REALLY SHORT I KNOW! But sometimes nobody got time for this! *sighs* I try, I really do, I just need to stop and sleep more :3**


	4. Nhar-Gh'Ok Ahead

**A/N: sorry about last week guys, I was on vacation and was like, "hell no, I WANT TO RELAX!" So here's the next chapter…don't anticipate a "make-up" chapter because I have like *counts in head* three or four hours till I have to sleep, and I would prefer to sleep…not to mention I have a busy week of school ahead of me…(a new play :3 )**

"Proximity warning: Planet Nhar-Gh'Ok ahead!" A computerized voice shouted, causing Zim to fall out of the pilot's chair; flailing limbs crashing to the floor in loud 'thumps'. Zim grimaced and groaned as he rubbed his shoulder that hit the ground in a cryptic manner. He mentally seethed at himself for being so lethargic and passing out in the pilot's seat. He grudgingly stood and returned to the seat, looking out the cockpit and gasping at the sight of the large violet planet. It was truly a sight to behold; Zim had only heard of the planet's description, but no one gave it justice. Hues and spectrums of violet swirled into the planet's surface; creating an abstract and surreal appearance. The violet hues reminded Zim of Gaz; he sighed sadly but ferociously shook his head; he needed to concentrate. His ship slowly descended into the violet planet's atmosphere; flying above the many mining camps where many species; including the Nhar-Gh'Ok's themselves. That was the main purpose of this planet, much like Earth's purpose to the Irken Empire, except the fact that Earth's resources were for energy, Nhar-Gh'Ok mines contained precious jewels that were sought after by many; including the Tallests. Zim took the ship out of autopilot and manually guided the ship to safely (thank God) land near one of the said camps. Not even the moment he touched down, he was surrounded by many Irken soldiers, weapons high; ready to destroy. Zim buried the urge to reach for his weapon, but instead he calmly got up, heading left toward the ship's exit. Pressing a code on the holographic keypad, the door slid open, twelve Irken soldiers putting their weapons in his face. He was about to speak but a surprised gasp and nervous voice fumbled through the air.

"G-general Z-Z-Z-Zim!" the voice stumbled; the owner of it a small Irken with a large head and tiny antennae; his pink eyes widening in a mixture of fear and surprise. Zim stood up straighter an un-amused look plastered on his face; giving a slightly annoyed expression. Clearly these soldiers didn't know who they were dealing with. They quickly pulled their weapons away from Zim's face, becoming nervous and frightened by the General's coming. Hopefully their inhospitable actions wouldn't get them punished.

"YES! IT IS I: ZIM…STILL THE GENERAL OF THE IRKEN EMPIRE!" Zim screamed a little too loud for someone's taste. An invisible eyebrow perked up from the soldiers. Irk, Zim wanted to facepalm himself. _Still the general? Still? Irk I want to murder you, _Zim's inner self seethed. Zim chuckled nonchalantly and stepped out of the vehicle as the other Irkens backed away to give him room. Once Zim straightened, they quickly saluted him. He simply nodded and approached the pink eyed Irken, who Zim assumed to be the leader of this particular regiment. He towered over the saluting Irken and nodded to him, indicating that they could be at ease. A long breath escaped the Irken; he'd been holding his breath. "Speak soldier."

"G-general Z-zim, S-s-s-sir! I am G-g-groot! Previous I-i-invader of the p-p-p-planet and now c-c-captain of s-squadron 4-2-1-3-0-0! What do we h-h-have the h-h-honor of your arrival, S-s-s-sir!" The stuttering Irken replied. Groot, Zim had remembered him in the academy, he was fairly a skilled invader, not as skilled as himself of course, but quite skilled. If it weren't for that annoying speech impediment, he might have attained a higher rank than captain. Zim ignored the thoughts and looked down at the captain.

"The Tallests have issued camp inspections across all conquered planets to make sure everything is up-to-date and running smoothly." Zim lied casually, daring anyone to challenge his words. Groot looked up confusingly at Zim.

"B-b-b-but n-n-no one was i-informed of s-s-such an i-i-inspection." Groot said with a tone of muddle. Zim's eyes narrowed at the short Irken, who gulped at Zim's expression.

"What? Is there something you are hiding…Captain?" Zim questioned his tone on the border lines of anger rather than annoyance. The small Irken quickly shook his head, afraid of any punishment that Zim could afflict on them in a snap.

"O-o-f course n-not g-general Zim! Y-you a-a-are welcomed t-t-to the p-p-planet anytime f-for anything!" he nervously squeaked, extending his hand as if he was beholding a magic trick, allowing Zim to pass into the camp. "T-to y-y-your posts s-soldiers!" he commanded, the other Irkens quickly, and eager to please, ran to their posts intending to impress the general. Zim's armor clanked as he and Groot walked over to the large camp. Zim looked around and saw many species of aliens work to break down the hardened boulders of the planet's surface. Their tired and sweat covered bodies were worn down from days of work without rest. Many had marks and welts from punishments given out for disobedience. It came through to Zim that not two months ago he would be laughing in appreciation over the torture and despair of a species considered to be lower than the Irkens. Not now though, now he only felt pity and a tinge of remorse for the way he acted and viewed things before. What he was witnessing now was cruel, and unjust. Gaz taught him how to be sympathetic…

"G-g-general Zim?" Groot interrupted Zim's train of thought, causing him to shake his head and return to the unheard conversation.

"Wha?" was Zim's reply, and the small Irken repressed a frustrated sigh.

"I-I-I asked h-how long y-you i-i-intended to stay, s-s-sir." Groot reminded. Zim looked down at him, then up to the violet sky in thought. In truth, he wasn't sure what to say because he now had only about a day until news got around that he wasn't the general anymore, and Zim preferred that the planet was taken back _before_ anyone found out about the news of his demotion. Zim, racked the thoughts in his cranium for a moment.

"Only over the night soldier, I shall leave tomorrow before 1900." Zim stated in a histrionic manner. The small Irken captain was slightly perplexed at the answer that seemed to have been fairly easy to answer, but he ignored it and replaced it with an enthralled attitude.

"T-t-that m-means you a-a-are staying f-f-for E-e-equinoxian F-f-falishian, right?" the now excited, stuttering Irken questioned enthusiastically. Zim took a moment to process the information. He completely forgot that the traditional Irken holiday of Planet Irk's equinox was tomorrow, he had forgotten the date spending all those years of Irk. He remembered those celebrations full of food, drink, and more FOOD! He hadn't celebrated the holiday in years! It was one of the only times Irkens got together to have 'fun'. Being a military planet, 'fun' wasn't really a normal pastime. That's why this holiday had been so important to so many Irken's, including him.

"Yes, why of course my friend!" Zim shouted loudly and slapped Groot on the back roughly, making the small Irken wince.

"G-g-great! T-the w-whole planet is i-invited y-y-you know! E-e-even the s-slaves!" Groot commented happily. Those words struck into Zim's mind. It was perfect! A gathering of the other species on the planet would give him the opportunity to get them to rebel! As Zim was led into the large tent in which he would stay in, he couldn't help but wonder to himself: how would he get them to ban together to rebel?

**A/N: Short chapter, I am losing my mind…BTW DOES ANYONE KNOW ABOUT MOST POPULAR GIRLS IN SCHOOL? That youtube show is SO funny. (Go watch it)**


	5. Questions

**A/N: What up guys! HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY! MAY THE GREAT POTATO GRANT ALL YOUR WISHES!**

Gaz awoke in a cold, horrifying sweat; she glanced around the elegant sleeping chamber, shaking furiously. Her breathing was in short pants and her heart was racing. It was only after a moment that she noticed droplets of salty water, descend down her delicate debonair cheeks. A pale hand reached up to her face, feeling the warmth of the tears on her fingers. She sighed in relief; only a nightmare. She tried to halt the tears from coming, but was overwhelmed by the contents of her dream. For a moment, she cleared her mind and let the tears continue their descent. The room was quite silent, so silent in fact, that Gaz could have sworn she could hear each tear drop cascade on the fabric below her. She held her head as the tears began to dry; taking deep and luxurious breaths. After about a minute, and with tears dried, she heard a slight yet hesitant knock at the door. Resuming a, "regal" position, Gaz cleared her throat and spoke a confident, "come in," for the guest at the door. The door slid its metallic surface away, opening the door, with it; an Irken with large orange eyes took a step in the room. The Irken soon fretted in embarrassment, as though she had made a mistake.

"My apologies, Colonel Gaz," bowed the Irken, "I didn't know that you were still resting." Gaz silently hoped that she looked as poised as she tried to attempt.

"No, no, Zeena, I had just woken up, in fact." She said politely. The Irken, now identified as Zeena, made a mental and slightly physical sigh of relief. She was pleased that the colonel's appeared to be enjoying themselves up till now, if she kept this up; a promotion should be right around the corner. Gaz scooted off of the hover bed she had slept in and she heard a snap of fingers come from Zeena. As soon as the sound occurred, metallic limbs spurted out of the wall near the hover bed, twisting and turning the sheets till finally, her bed was made. The limbs frightened Gaz a bit; they had always been there, so it probably wouldn't have been a problem for them to strangle her in the middle of the night…The mere thought made her shudder in fear. She turned back to Zeena who now held out a violet Irken uniform. Gaz raised an eyebrow at the strange gesture.

"I thought that you might like a fresh uniform to work in, after all, you did sleep in the one you usually wear last night." Zeena answered smiling. Gaz glanced down and saw that she was correct; she _had_ slept in her clothes from yesterday, yet it's not that the kind gesture bothered her; it was that it was violet. _Violet_, everything is always violet! Do people actually think her favorite color is violet, just because of her hair? No, her favorite color wasn't violet, or even black. Actually, in a cliché and ironic way, her favorite color was green…It had always been green, even _after_ she had fallen in love with Zim. The fact that he was green only made her more attracted to him. _Zim…_she wondered to herself; a slight pang of fear creeping into her heart…_the dream…_she shook her head from her thoughts of Zim and took the uniform without hesitation. She nodded to Zeena who decided to speak before leaving Gaz to her…changing of clothing… "After you change, you and your colleagues can meet us in the dining hall for a proper morning meal. Afterwards, I will personally give you a grand tour of the city, so that you may begin your inspection." She informed politely to her, "superior". Gaz nodded in approval and Zeena exited the lavish room to allow Gaz to change in peace. As Gaz quietly slipped out of her clothing from the previous day, she tried to keep her mind off that awful dream she had last night. She slipped on the violet uniform with ease; it was the perfect size. _What are they mind readers?_ She thought as she examined her appearance in a holomirror on a small floating tabled that she could only guess to be a vanity. She saw what appeared to resemble a comb and combed it through her gentle locks. She soon noticed that her slightly dirty hair glowed in cleanliness. She curiously looked at the comb seeing some sort of substance on it. The substance appeared to act like shampoo as she continued to comb and clean each strand of violet. She noticed some creams that even though she couldn't read the Irken writing, she experimented with.

By the time she was finished preparing herself, she looked incredibly beautiful. She reminded herself that when this was all over to ask Zim to procure these cleaning supplies for her birthday. She left the room feeling rejuvenated and continued to make her way down a corridor to the dining hall that they had been in the previous night. She entered the hall to find that the other "colonel's" had already arrived; they too, dressed in Irken uniforms of a variety of colors. She took a seat next to Dib, who wore a black uniform. Dib was surprised to see his little sister so "dolled up" for this act, but he supposed that you need to play the part to _be_ the part snd shrugged it off. It didn't take long after Gaz sat down that the food was served. The humans honestly didn't know what to expect; the night before, they had some incredibly fancy soup and were thankful it tasted alright, yet dared not to ask what was in it. So breakfast, they hoped, would be a similar story, but to their dismay a strange plate of tentacle-like limbs appeared before them.

"A delectable treat that only the high officers in the army can eat; you have to remember the testicles of a shlorbeast, do you not?" Zeena queried hospitably. As soon as the word, "testicles" came out of the Irken's mouth, a negative aura had filled the room. Agents Nessie's eyes went wide, Torque began choking on his sleaap fruit juice, Zita paled, and Dib made a small whimper. Gaz only took a deep breath, she reminded herself to punch Zim after this whole escapade was over.

"Of course we remember, don't we _colonels?" _Gaz replied, enunciating the 'k' sound in "colonel". They quickly turned to her with the same expression on their faces, a "are you crazing, are we really going to have to eat this?" look. She glared back at them with a, "yes you do, and you _will_ like it" stare. They all gulped simultaneously and watched in horror as Gaz took a eating utensil, which resembled a small pike, and stabbed the tentacle testicles, creating a squishy, sloshing noise. Zita almost lost it at the noise, but tried to keep it together. The rest of the humans seemed to lean in closer to see Gaz's reaction as she raised the tentacles up, eye level. Gaz took a deep and long breath and shut her eyes as she stuck the slimy testicles in her mouth. She took a moment, holding her breath before she began to slowly chew. She felt juices spit out in her mouth as her teeth broke through their liquid pouches. She had prepared herself for the worst taste imaginable, yet surprisingly found that it _didn't _taste like it looked. In fact, it had a similar taste to bacon, and the only negative things about it were that it looked disgusting, and that, in reality she was eating testicles. She opened up her surprised amber eyes and couldn't suppress a hum of approval. The others were horrified that she seemed to enjoy the strange food. Gaz swallowed before she added, "I always enjoyed the fact that they have a similar taste to our home planet's food: _bacon_." The word "bacon" is a very influential word. The moment Gaz said it, Torque was glad to stuff his face full of the tentacle testicles, glad that he wouldn't have to go hungry during this mission. Zita slowly gained the courage to eat, knowing that they at least tasted alright. Dib and Nessie went to eat the tentacles normally. Pleased by their reactions, Zeena sat down and began to eat the succulent food-stuffs.

During the meal, Zeena talked like she did the night before, yet no one was really listening. Gaz only noticed that she was glorifying the planet as if it was all her idea. Obviously she was rooting for something that a _real_ colonel could give, but considering she really wasn't one, this Irken would probably be disappointed by the time they were done. Gaz couldn't help but pity her, after all she has been nice to them this whole time. Gaz wondered silently how Irkens could be so nice, yet so evil. Well, Zim had been evil, somewhat, but he didn't seem that way now. He loved her, and that really changed him. So, maybe not all Irkens were _wholly_ evil? It was a question that puzzled her completely; the question opened up a thought: who did she trust? No, she didn't trust Zeena, but she was thankful that she was at least being kind.

After the meal, Zeena led them outside to the hovercrafts, as to begin the tour. After getting inside the vehicles, Zeena took them to the top most elaborate research facility on Vort, Vort Research Station 9. Entering the building, Gaz saw that the place was truly spectacular; it was large and was filled with glorious trinkets that she assumed were new technology in the process of being made. All her respect and bewilderment for the Station ended when she suddenly stopped in her tracks. She hadn't meant to stop and stare, but it was difficult not to. She saw a small alien creature in an impregnable container was being punctured with a needle, the contents being pushed inside its very skin. The creature squealed in what only she could guess as horrifying pain. The creature ran about slamming its body against the walls of the container. With multiple spasms, it squealed as its skin began to tear and finally the poor creature had burst, leaving its blood and mangled innards to decorate the walls of the container. Horrified, Gaz looked away, only to see yet another painful sight. She watched as two creatures that resembled another, one large the other small, were in another container. She watched as the smaller creature touched and rubbed the larger creature that, Gaz realized in shock, wasn't moving. Zeena stopped talking and had noticed Colonel Gaz's deep fascination with the creatures being tested on. Zenna smiled darkly, a favorite subject of hers, and an opportunity to get that promotion. Zeena walked over to Gaz who hadn't even noticed her quiet approach. Zeena smiled and began to explain what she was seeing.

"That would be the testing of the Globajon Ray," Zeena began smartly, "When the weapon is used the subject is killed instantly, but what's even more fascinating is the fact that the radiation of the weapon kills any subject that is in close quarters with the victim within minutes; in this case, a mother and child Chleeko." Gaz's eyes went wide at the revealing of the information. Zeena was pleased, "Look at that pathetic creature; he doesn't even know his demise will come from his own mother…how delightful…" Gaz was shocked; the atrocity of this cruelty was unfathomable. Maybe it was because she saw a little bit of herself in the poor creature; mourning over its dead mother, knowing the incredible pain that came with it. She turned to Zeena who only smiled wickedly at the sight before them. It was at that moment Gaz realized that Irkens, were born with an innate ability to be evil. She didn't want to believe it, being in love with an Irken herself, but Zim had been evil before, but he had seemed to change after he fell in love with her. That left one question, could Irkens change? Could they abandon their evil ways? Looking at the now dead baby Chleeko that was clinging to its mother, Gaz could only stand there with her unanswered questions.

**A/N: *Gasp* Is this development I've written? What kind of sorcery is this?! XD I actually got this done early for once. Review, favorite, follow… the works. I haven't been really focusing lately because I've been on a Skyrim binge and it hasn't really made my intellect healthy. Well, at least my Blade of Woe does over 9,876,543 damage :3 take that dragons…(btw I didn't cheat with the game, I have it on X-box)**


	6. Incoming Fleet

**A/N: Sorry for the long absence guys :/ I was updating my Skyrim story because it was one of those ideas that you needed to develop like pronto or you were going to lose it…for this I kind of wing it and the ideas just come as I start writing it. So again, sorry for the two week wait, so here:**

Tak sighed heavily as the fleet _finally_ took off to search and capture Zim, Gaz, and their associates. She rubbed her aching temples furiously; the insane chattering and grunting of her crew was getting to her. _Damn these pests, I will strangle each one of them before this mission is over!_ She mentally screamed inside; the image of each of their irritating throats being crushed between her hands calmed her slightly, yet she was still on edge. She looked forward, out into space; unable to resist an uncomfortable feeling creeping through her skin. She rapidly tapped one of her three fingers on the armrest of the Captain's chair; taking in a deep breath.

This whole situation baffled her.

It sounded so simple, yet she didn't feel right. She had been ordered by her Tallests to search and capture the inquired traitors and return them to the Massive. She had been specifically instructed _not _to kill Gaz _or_ Zim, the others could be dealt with by any means. What had puzzled her the most was the fact Tallest Red _personally_ commanded her not to kill Zim on the spot. What was he planning exactly? She had no idea. She knew why she couldn't destroy Gaz, for she was going to be the Queen of the Irken Empire; Red's lover.

Her claws dug into the armrest.

She didn't want to submit to such a pitiful feeling, but she was jealous. It wasn't just jealousy that surrounded her, it was anger, confusion, and elegiac. Why would Red choose _her _for a mate? _Why not me?_ She asked herself repeatedly. She had the major qualities of an excellent Irken female. She was incredibly tactile and skilled. Her skill in combat even surpassed almost all of the male Irken population. Wasn't she herself quite desirable? She gritted her teeth, and her brow furrowed. What about the human female, huh? What were her qualities? She was considered attractive apparently by both her Tallest and Zim, but she couldn't think of any other abilities or talents the female had. So, why? Why did her Tallest want the human, and not her: Tak? These questions made Tak's chest twinge in slight discomfort. She shook her head and took another deep breath once again.

"Corporal!" She shouted at one of the grumbling Irkens by the controls. He immediately forgot about his other conversation when she spoke to him.

"Yes General Tak!" he replied, saluting her.

"Set coordinates for planet Vort, we're going to give our traitors a surprise…" she sniggered evilly. _Too bad the poor humans did not realize that transport ships have tracking software in them…_she mourned sarcastically to herself. The Corporal did as she asked, setting the coordinates accordingly. Tak knew that it wouldn't take long for a fleet of battleships to arrive at their destination, perhaps a day, a day and a half. No matter, soon she would capture the targets and dispose of the unwanted associates.

She had been waiting for the moments when she would meet _him_ again. That wretched boy: Dib! He had humiliated her and her squadron back on Earth, and she was looking for revenge. She couldn't believe how easily the tall scythe haired boy had trapped her in her own tent! How embarrassing it was when the members of her squadron awoke to giggle at her sorry appearance; being trapped around a post with a pair of cuffs prisoning her in. She wanted to destroy him for what had happened, for what strange feelings he brewed inside of her! He, with his jet black hair, creamy brown eyes, tall, yet muscular figure; that dark and ominous attitude, his unpredictability…gah! That strange, yet slightly familiar feel continued to consume her. Oh, she would _destroy_ him, and that disgusting female unit! How dare she call her _small_, it's not as if everyone needs to be _large_ in features anyway! She scoffed, thinking about how superior she was to all of them combined, as if she needed a stupid Earth child to comment on her appearance; it was laughable…

This situation though, was so aggravating…

Zim. Why was Zim even alive? They should have killed him when he was a smeet. Then they wouldn't be in this ridiculous mess. She knew Zim had been an idiot from the start, but seriously, challenging a Tallest? How did he think this was going to play out? That he and his lover were going to live happily ever after and back on Earth, growing old together? Starting a family of their own? Ha! They must have been joking! No one beats a Tallest, Zim of all Irkens knew that. He could have just let Red have what he wanted and this whole stupid situation would have never occurred. Even though she hated the fact that she wasn't the chosen mate for Red, she hated seeing Red be so…disturbed by anything such as this. Zim was a fool, and still was, and he would pay for his crime!

She shut her eyes, the fact that she _couldn't _kill him concerned her. Truthfully, there was nothing she would have enjoyed more than to see his blood spill on the ground she walked on as his love; Gaz watched as the life quickly drain from his eyes. Oh, that pleasurable thought was enough to calm her. So why, why spare Zim? What plans did her Almighty Tallest have in store? She knew it would be something terrible, for it was Red she was thinking about, and Red was so unpredictable in his decisions and they often resulted in bloody and incredibly torturous a event…that's one of the things she loved about him. She decided that she would know soon enough and it was probably imperative that she indeed saved the best for last. When Zim would finally be put down like the mongrel he was; to die as a traitor. There was no higher dishonor than that, and she was glad he would die that way, he deserved far, _far _worse.

She took, yet another, deep breath and opened her eyes; smiling evilly. _I'm coming for every one of your traitorous asses, and make sure each of you suffer fates worse than death can provide…_she giggled internally.

**A/N: Ooooo, what's this strange feeling Tak has for Dib :3 It's short I know, I kind of ran out of things to say :/ **

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	7. Party's Over

**A/N: I AM SO SORRY! I have not updated in so fricken' long time and I swear it was because I was busy I know I updated my Skyrim fic, those of you who actually read it…but I had to choose, something I could easily write about since I had ideas in my head already and not really for this one BUT NOW I AM BACK and all my AP tests are finished and no more plays this year! So I will be updating more often I PROMISE!**

"Gaz!" Zim shouted as he opened his eyes with celerity and sat up in his cot. He looked around the tent that the Irken soldiers deployed on planet Nhar-Gh'Ok. The tent was twice the size of a normal soldier's tent. It was made of crimson fabric with golden rims, the king sized cot was draped with the same material that was smoother than silk, feeling like water cascading down skin as it fell from Zim's chest. His shirtless chest rose up and down; his breathing a series of pants as his antennae shook with worry. His ruby orbs glanced around and realized that his fears were only created by a nightmare. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath; sighing. _Silly dreams, they cannot harm the great Zim…_he joked inwardly, but the silly egocentric comment couldn't prevent him from worrying slightly. The dream had truly been horrific, in a third person view, he had watched in horror as his love, Gaz, was being put through severe and horrific torture. Someone else was there, yet the dream was cloudy, blurry. He heard giggling through the blur and saw purple eyes, green figure, curled antennae…Tak! Zim saw the homicidal Irken slowly trail herself toward Gaz who was completely bound on a table commonly used for experimental usage…wait…no!

"Hehehe, oh I can see why Zim and the Tallest desire you…" Tak giggled maliciously, grabbing some kind of shiny object…concentrating, Zim noticed it was a tool commonly used by Irkens for dissections. The blade was jagged with two sharp ends covered in tiny razor like teeth. Zim panicked and tried to move, to save his love, but he was frozen, like a statue, watching in horror as his beloved's eyes grew wide in fear and struggled under the binds restraining her. He heard her shaky scream, though it was muffled by the gag in her mouth. He saw tears stream down her face as Tak continued to giggle, leaning in closer to her. Tak's leaned so that they were face-to-face, her lips curled into a demonic smile. Zim could see Gaz's eyes; filled with terror. He wanted to pounce on Tak and help Gaz escape, but his attempts were futile and he could only watch in horror as Gaz was at Tak's mercy. "Such lovely eyes…" Tak commented softly, "such a shade of amber is very rare, I wonder how you would look without such beauty…" at that moment, Tak lowered the blade at a straining pace. Gaz struggled to turn away, but her head was locked in place as the blade came closer and closer to her eye. Somehow, the gag in her mouth was loosened out giving her the ability to speak. She was about to call for help until the blade was plunged into her eye, blood squirting all around as Tak's swirled the tool in her eye. A lurid scream came from Gaz and Zim panicked as the cries of his beloved echoed throughout the room. He saw Tak laugh uncontrollably as she plunged the knife in further and further into the crevice where her eye once was; skewering the organ into a liquefied state. Blood ran down Gaz's pale skin, staining such purity. It poured out and Zim was feeling nauseous, yet couldn't turn away. "Quit your screaming!" Tak complained, punching Gaz in the jaw. Gaz twitched in pain, tears streaming down her face from her good eye, mixing in with her blood. Her teeth were clenched and her hands were clutching the fabric beneath her. Her shaking frame and labored breathing was killing Zim. He tried to speak, to scream for Tak to stop, but it was as if he wasn't even there. He hoped that it was over; hearing Gaz quiver and whine in pain, he prayed that Tak was finished.

But he was wrong.

Tak licked the blood that was painted over her gloves, grinning evilly. She grabbed Gaz's chin and glared at her. "P-p-please, no more, no more…" Gaz begged, sobbing softly. Zim's chest clenched, he wanted to be in her place right now, to take all her pain for himself, if it meant she wouldn't be in such pain any longer. Tak chuckled.

"But the fun has only just started! Why would you want to stop?" Tak asked with feigning innocence. She grinned and slapped Gaz, causing a shout of pain to come from her. Tak walked away and came back after a moment holding objects that were from human creation. Zim recognized them as nails and a hammer; tools usually designed to build certain objects as Zim recalled, but why would she need them? He was soon answered with a horrific shout of terror coming from the violet-haired teenager. He looked in fear as Tak giggled maniacally as she drove the nail further into Gaz's index finger on her right hand. Each swing driving the metal deeper into her flesh; blood stained the white fabric beneath her. Gaz's good eye flooded with tears as she cried in agony. "I saw this one on of your human television programs. Fifteen nails in total, driving through each joint in your fingers on each hand; can't get any more painful than that…" she stated happily, raising the hammer and driving another nail in her index finger. Gaz cried out once more. It seemed like endless horror-filled hours, while Zim looked in terror as Gaz's fingers were mutilated by the building materials. No matter how much he wanted to help, to look away, have this horrible image stop, he couldn't do anything.

When Tak was finished, the white fabric was no longer white, but stained with the crimson that came from Gaz's body. Gaz's cries went quiet and her eyes skin was losing its usual vibrant glow. Her eye color was fading and Zim knew she was on the brink of death. Tak sighed in un-amusement and decided she was done having her fun. She abruptly grabbed the Irken dissecting tool and stabbed it in her stomach, ripping it upwards; cutting her chest cavity open. Zim looked and saw blood spill everywhere and her slow beating heart slowed down to a halt, to which Tak only shrugged her shoulders and stab each of her left lung, leaving the blade in there. Zim knew that Gaz had finally passed and his world fell apart. He finally found his voice…

That's when he had woke up, screaming her name. He felt a rush of relief come over him realizing that he had only been dreaming. He opened his eyes and heard a shuffling outside his tent. The opening flap of his tent was lifted, letting the light from the planet's sun come in. He saw it was Captain Groot, the small soldier in charge of the conquered planet.

"G-g-general Z-zim?" the stuttering Irken questioned, "I-i-is e-everything alright?" Zim nodded nobly, sitting up straight.

"Yes, yes, everything is fine soldier. Now leave me, I must get dressed!" Zim commanded. The Captain quickly saluted his superior, leaving him to get into a decent state. Zim looked to where he had left his armor, getting out of the cot and walking briskly to its location. Strapping the armor on and his boots; he then looked towards the cot and decided to straighten it up. He tucked the covers into the mattress. He sighed and then exited the tent, only to jump in fright when Captain Groot had been standing outside the tent the whole time.

"S-sorry sir!" he apologized after almost bumping into his superior. Zim waved it off following the Captain around the camp.

"So, where is the celebration going to be held?" Zim asked casually as they walked through the camp. The small Irken looked up to him and smiled genially.

"Well sir, t-the E-e-equinoxian F-f-falishian will be h-h-held on the o-outskirts of the camp, the slaves are p-preparing the s-s-spot for this evening's f-festivities." He commented happily. Zim had trouble not wincing at the annoying speech impediment, but he had to admit at least this soldier wasn't as bad as Tak…Tak… "S-s-sir?" the stuttering pink-eyed Irken inquired nervously.

"Hmm?" Zim replied, distracted from his dream, "Oh, it's nothing. What will the festivities include on this great holiday?" Pink eyes blinked in slight confusion, but Groot smiled again.

"W-well, the f-f-festivities will i-include a feast, a-and games, a-a-and e-eventually w-w-we will s-show a m-m-m-m-movie classic: T-the Irken F-fight, starring Z-zleeko P-progiax and T-rata Z-zelloch!" the small Irken answered. Zim cocked his head. He was intrigued that they would show the movie during the celebration. Zim knew that the true reason for the movie's creation was that it was made to glorify the ideology of war so that the soldiers in the Irken Empire were war focused, that war and invasions were the only way to bring themselves to glory. Zim himself was brainwashed by this ideology, seeing the movie multiple times. Zim and the Captain continued to walk through the camp the Captain showing Zim around to show him that everything was ship-shape in the camp. After a couple of hours, they decided to head out towards to where the celebration was to be held. It was about five in the evening and the festivities were about to begin. Exiting the hover-car, Zim was impressed with the scenery. There was food tests everywhere filled with delicious cuisines from all around the universe. Irkens and other species alike went through lines to get their hands on such succulent foods. They were conversing, though the slaves were separated from the Irkens. Music, dancing, and drinking was all around and Groot urged Zim to participate.

Zim didn't really want to admit it, but he was actually having fun. He had had a few drinks, but decided to deny any more drinks offered to him by his fellow Irkens. He noticed that some of the female soldiers were hitting on him, touching his antennae and batting their eyes at him.

"Zim apologizes, but he is not available for mating." He declined the latest female trying to flirt with him.

"Aww, why not?" the blue-eyed female Irken pouted. "Do you already have a mate?" she gasped. Zim tried to prevent the darkening green from coming across his face, but the smart Irken female caught it. "You do!" she frowned, "She must be _very_ lucky, I'm jealous!" Zim laughed it off and then everyone went silent as they heard a slight fanfare. Everyone looked toward the sound and saw Captain Groot with a voice enhancer standing on a platform.

"H-hello e-everyone, the E-e-equinoxian F-f-falishian is one o-of the g-greatest holiday's o-of I-irken-kind! W-w-we are very excited a-and h-happy to h-have G-general Zim here w-with us on t-t-this fine E-e-equinoxian F-f-falishian! Let u-us now f-f-find a seat s-so we can b-begin the movie!" He announced happily, getting down from the platform to find a seat. Quickly, everyone went around finding a spot to sit as the movie began to play. The opening credits flashing on as a holographic screen flashed into the sky. Zim looked around and remembered why he had come to the planet in the first place. Though he was having fun, he knew that in twenty-four hours, they would all know of his so called, "betrayal" and turn against him. He had to persuade the slaves to band together and assist in defeating the Irken Empire once and for all; to free themselves, and their people. He saw that he was the only one standing now; everyone else was sitting in their seats. Zim scanned the crowd seeing the crowd before him. There was a huge separation among the slaves and Irkens, and entire division. While the Irkens looked like they were having fun, the slaves were sad and soft-spoken. He could see it in their eyes. He approached them to get a closer look at them, seeing their scars from being beaten and whipped repeatedly over the years.

"You going to sit or what?" a deep voice rumbled below him, Zim looked down and saw a light brown in color alien with four arms. Zim cocked a non-existent eyebrow at the strange alien; he'd never seen one like him before. The alien quickly retreated, realizing it was the general of the Irken Empire. "I'm sorry please go on ahead, I…" but he didn't finish because Zim abruptly sat down next to him. The four armed alien blinked in surprise, confused by the strange Irken's action. "General sir…"

"I am Zim." Zim whispered. After a few minutes the four armed alien's curiosity got the best of him.

"What's an Irken, no the _general_ of the Irken Empire doing sitting here on the slave side?" he deep voice queried. Zim looked at him; his frame was enormous three times the size of his own body. His corpulent body was all muscle, his green eye staring questionably down at Zim. Zim thought for a moment and realized this was the opportunity to start getting the slaves together to help him in the fight. He motioned the alien to lean in closer to speak of his secrets. The light brown colored alien lifted an eyebrow in confusion, but decided to humor him.

"Zim is _not_ the general of the Irken Empire anymore. I was never really seen as the general in the Tallests eyes. They fooled me in order to take someone away from me. You see, the woman I love was desired by one of the Tallests; Red. He tried to take her as his queen, but we escaped. Now we are being trailed by them, so we fled to three different planets in order to give rise to a rebellion and defeat the Irken Empire." When he finished he leaned away from the alien and let it all sink in. The alien looked at him and Zim stared back.

"My name is Spleenk." He finally said, though this confused him, "I was a part of a rebellion once. We were called, "The Resisty" a stupid name I know, but at the time, it gave me such hope…" he began. "My home planet was taken over when I was just a pup, the Irken soldiers killed my mother and father, but somehow found value in me, making me work as soon as I could. When I joined The Resisty, I believed that we could stop them by ourselves…" he trailed off. The movie continued to play, a gory scene being shown as an Irken on the screen tore the head off of another alien from a different race. "I was severely punished for my betrayal, and was sent here. I am beaten and whipped every day, we all are. So we are kept in line. You know, I don't even know what race I am…I have been here for twenty-four years and I haven't found a single slave of the same species on this planet…" he said elegiacally. He pointed to the rest of the slaves in the crowd, their sad and worn down faces showing the despair that had accumulated over the years, the wounds on them still leaking out blood and pus. "Look around you…there is no hope for us left…we have all been broken…we have no fight left…I'm sorry, but your search for comrades has come in vain, none of the others that you will talk to will help you…we will all say the same…" he finished. The four armed alien turned away and continued to watch the movie. Zim just stared at him in disbelief, no one would help him? After all that had transpired, after all the hard work they had gone through to escape, he would fail? If everyone here had given up, then what of the slaves of the other two planets? Had they given up too? Had everything he had done to ensure the safety of him and Gaz really been for nothing? His squiddly spooch sank and he couldn't help but feel like a failure…was this it? Would he die with the others as his love would be in the arms of another forever? He sank into his seat, but suddenly heard a gasp whoosh over the crowd. He looked up and saw something dreadful, the movie was no longer playing. Instead on the holographic screen, there was the image of Tak glaring down at the crowd.

"Greetings, Zim…" she said in disgust. "You might have escaped last time, but I assure you, you won't get away now…" she said smugly, smirking deviously. Zim's eyes went wide as he saw her step aside and his chest felt heavy as he saw Gaz was bound to a table, just like the one in his dream…_No!_ He mentally scolded as his breathing started to speed up. His ruby orbs stared in fear as her eyes flickered in fear and sadness as she squirmed to get free. Zim stood up frantically and realized that everyone was staring at him. He looked in horror as the same tool from his dream appeared in Tak's hand. Grinning maliciously, she held the blade over her neck. "I am outside Nhar-Gh'Ok's atmosphere, you have one hour to get your ass on my ship, and I would hurry…" she stated pulling the blade closer to her pulse, "it would be a shame if I would have to spill blood over her pretty skin…" with one last look into Gaz's fearful eyes, the movie returned and Zim sprinted as fast as he could to the hovercrafts. Driving the hovercraft he found his ship and quickly got into it. He set the coordinates and eyed the ship's universal clock.

"Damn," he swore. Only twenty minutes left. He started the thrusters and made his way into the sky. _I never should have left her alone…_he scolded himself; _I should have stayed with her, Damn it!_ He was infuriated with himself; it was his fault that this happened. "Gaz…" he said softly, "Hold on, your Zim is coming…"

*o*

Tak laughed maniacally as she shut the transmission off between planet Nhar-Gh'Ok and herself. She glared back at Gaz, approaching her and grabbing her chin.

"Filthy creature…" she spat, roughly removing her hand from Gaz's chin and glaring hatefully at her. Gaz's eyes narrowed at the Irken in front of her. "Oh, don't look me that way, it doesn't become you." Gaz wanted to punch the shit out of Tak so much at this point, hating the fact that she had just helped Tak lure Zim in. "You made it very convincing," Tak pointed out as if she had read her mind, "And if you're wondering: yes I will keep my promise not to kill him when he arrives…though I can't promise for his death any time after that…" The binds holding Gaz back creaked in response to her squirming to make a swipe at the dark purple-eyed Irken.

"Mphrm mmrphmrrmhh mhhh!" Gaz tried shouting through the gag, and Tak only laughed at her feeble attempts to harm her.

"Pathetic little human, I don't care what you think of me. Insolent little girl, what do they see in you, I wonder…" she stated darkly. She looked over the violet haired teen and could not see what the two Irken males found attractive in her. So what of her strange eye and hair color? So what of her dark aura and hateful prowess? "I am better than you in every way…" she accidentally said outloud causing Gaz to raise an eyebrow in confusion. Once Tak realized her mistake she shook her head. "Nevermind. Zim will no doubt come soon enough, and I will finally make my Tallest proud…even if he'd happier to see you than I…" she said angrily. Tak clenched her fists and decided to leave and prepare for Zim's arrival. "Don't go anywhere." She joked as she left the room, leaving Gaz in binds on the strange table.

_Zim…_she thought to herself despondently, _I'm so sorry…_

**A/N: Phew, what a chapter, guys I will explain how Gaz gets captured in the next chapter that I WILL update next weekend I promise…****Hey did anyone get the HNNKN reference? Lol  
**


	8. How It Came to This

**A/N: Guys, I'm SO sorry for not updating last week. Seriously I wrote like half of it and it was shitty, and I don't like posting shit, so I needed to re-write it, so I did. This is WAY better, trust me…**

Gaz gazed around the space around her; she huffed as she tried to escape the binds that held her down to the table. She groaned in frustration and after a few moments, collapsed back down on the table. _Damn it…_she cursed inwardly, her violet hair messy from the harsh movements. She tried catching her breath while lying on the table; she shut her eyes tightly and let out a forceful breath. She opened her eyes to gaze around the room, searching for anything that could help her escape. She saw a blade that was jagged with two sharp ends covered in tiny razor like teeth. She tried reaching for it even in the confines of the binds. She strained to grab it as sweat began to form on her brow. She scraped it with her finger…_Come on…Come on…_she prayed inwardly. It was no use; she stopped and huffed again from the energy spent on reaching the blade. She didn't want to admit it, but she was slightly afraid, she had no idea what was to happen to her, or her Zim. _Zim…_she thought, her sad eyes closing slightly. She had hoped that everything was going to work out; that her and Zim could finally be together after this whole escapade was dealt with. That they could hold hands and she could see him smile at her while they watched the sunset, calling out the colors they saw…like they used to…Yet at the moment, it appeared hopeless, that her dream was just that: a dream; dream that would never come true, a dream that was thrown into a pile of forgotten hopes, forgotten wishes; a place that she herself was all too familiar with…She didn't know what to do now, and maybe that frightened her the most; she had no ideas, no plan, no hope…Was this the end, and if so, how exactly did it come to this?

A rainy night? No, further…

An invasion? No, further…

A planet? Yes, a planet, that's how she ended up in this mess…

*0*

_**Planet Vort 15 hours earlier…**_

"Zeena ma'am!" an Irken called out to the group. The "colonels" turned along with the orange-eyed Irken named Zeena. The female Irken tilted her head in confusion and looked at where the voice had come from.

"State your business!" she responded authoritatively. The other Irken had called from the other side of the research station. His head peered over some computers and he waved at her to indicate his location.

"My sincerest apologies ma'am," he began, "but there seems to be an issue regarding the liquid in the pod containers; some kind of malfunction!" Zeena sighed and cleared her throat. She wanted to simply give a tour to the colonels without getting interrupted, just a few minutes of showing off, so that she could get a promotion, but no, there just _had_ to be a malfunction!

"I must apologize, but it seems one of my colleagues is in need of assistance." She said politely, bowing slightly to Gaz and the others, "feel free to explore in my absence." She added before hurriedly walking away.

"What should we do Gaz?" Dib asked while tapping her shoulder. She turned to the scythe-haired boy and quietly leaned in closer.

"We need to talk to some of the conquered inhabitants of this planet; we need to speak with them about rebelling against the Irkens. They could probably help us find weapons, or maybe they know some kind of weaknesses that the Irkens may possess," she whispered quietly to Dib and the others. Gaz looked around and scoped out the large room. The inside was decorated with chrome colors, from the machines to the walls. She looked about all the various experiments being carried out. The room was slightly loud from all the incantations from the Irken researchers. "We need to split up," she finally added, "to avoid suspicion." The "colonels" nodded and Gaz split them up into teams accordingly, making Nessie and Torque one team and Dib and Zita the other. "I'll go alone." She stated. She went to turn but felt someone tug at her shoulder. She looked and saw Dib with worried brown eyes staring at her in confusion.

"You're going off alone? Are you sure that is safe?" he queried in a protective older brother-like tone. At times, she thought it was sweet that he worried about her like that, but there were also times that it really pissed her off.

"I'm _fine _Dib." She said in an angry, yet hushed tone. He looked at the anger in her eyes and he quickly retreated, making a motion to Zita that they should get moving. After Gaz saw them leave to find someone to speak with, she decided to maneuver through the station alone. She passed by many Irkens doing horrendous experiments. She couldn't look at them for more than a few seconds without looking away. She saw gruesome weapons and other instruments that were used on creatures to dissect them alive or kill them in the most violent way possible. She walked for a while and then was surprised to see a strange alien with grey skin and two horns coming on either side of its head. It was near a pod with a small creature that resembled a monkey with seven arms inside. She stared in awe as the strange small alien whose fingers dialed over a holographic keyboard with ease; his precise fingers not missing a key as a genetic code was entered into the computer and suddenly, the creature in the pod grew to an enormous size. She was mesmerized by the sight, but was snapped out of her state when an Irken quickly hit the alien on the back of the head with something that resembled a baton, but the weapon gave him an electric shock, causing the alien to screech in pain.

"It was supposed to explode, die, go KABOOM!" the obnoxiously large Irken chided, shocking him with the baton again and then tearing a chrome instrument from the alien's arm, tossing it to the side. She saw the alien grunted in pain but narrowed its eyes at the Irken.

"A true Vortian does not kill, unless he needs to…" the alien, now identified as a Vortian, seethed at the Irken, to which the large Irken growled at the Vortian and went to strike him once more, but Gaz simply stopped him by clutching the baton, thankfully, it didn't shock her.

"C-c-colonel Gaz!" the Irken stammered in surprise over the sudden action. Gaz mentally scolded herself, what was she doing? This was only making her suspicious! She tried to search her brain to come up with a reason for preventing the Irken from his, although cruel, duty. She found one, turning slowly over with a death glare painted on her face; her amber eyes piecing into the Irken's soul.

"Don't worry soldier, I'll take care of this one. Where can I punish this low-life?" She said carefully, evil pouring in through her voice. The soldier shivered in fear and put his baton away.

"S-sure n-n-no problem! Y-you can interrogate him in the confinement room!" he exclaimed nervously. Gaz smiled darkly at the burly Irken and ordered him to lead her to the confinement room. The large Irken in front of her was explaining how the confinement room was often used to punish misbehaving captives, although Gaz wasn't really paying much attention. He led her and the Vortian to a small chrome room that had a single chair in the middle; a large light blazing down from the ceiling like a spotlight. _Can this get anymore stereotypical?_ Gaz wondered as the hefty Irken violently tossed the Vortian onto the chair, moving the chair a few inches from the impact. The small grey Vortian simply sat there too dejected to fight back. Gaz was about to speak, yet realized that the obnoxious Irken was still in the room waiting for something to happen.

"Is there something you need soldier?" she questioned ominously, hinting that he should leave. Quickly picking up the negative aura Gaz was giving, he excused himself without another word, leaving the two beings alone as he shut the door. She waited a few moments; hearing his footsteps fade away. She then turned to the doleful alien in front of her; his head low and hands folded, waiting for a blow to come. Because there was no fight left, no point in attempting to fight when you are so small in numbers and only a few are on your side. What was the point in trying if you knew you'd be easily defeated?

"Are there cameras of some kind in here?" he heard her ask. It took the Vortian off guard and he slowly met her gaze. She simply stared with a serious look and patiently awaited his answer. He looked back with utter confusion, just what exactly was this about. The violet haired teen sighed and asked him again, "are there any cameras in here? You know technology that records what goes on in certain places?"

"If you mean the facility in general yes, 243 to be exact; if you intended on asking about this specific location, yes there _was_ one, but it malfunctioned about 3.7 galactic weeks ago." He responded profoundly, catching Gaz slightly off-guard. She felt that she had heard a slight hint of an arrogant tone, but she ignored it and simply released a breath of relief.

"Good, it wouldn't be wise for me to reveal my true reason for being here." She explained, wishing now she had a chair to sit in. The Vortian cocked his head to the side.

"True reason?" he wondered.

"You have a name?" she asked, avoiding his question. He paused for a moment.

"…K'hol" he answered, still confused by what was occurring. She nodded at the name and approached the small grey alien.

"K'hol…" she repeated, "I'm Gaz-"

"A colonel of the Irken Empire, I've heard." He interrupted, secretly lacing the words with hate, but she detected it.

"No actually…" she responded, earning a surprised look from the Vortian, "My planet was actually taken over, just like your planet. I was forced into becoming Tallest Red's mate, but escaped. My associates and I are actually masquerading as colonels to trick the Irkens. We are here to fight back." She said seriously, and the Vortian's eyes widened at her words. They both remained silent for a while as the information sank in. K'hol suddenly looked uneasy.

"This is too good to be true…you shouldn't get a Vortian's hopes up for nothing…" she spoke quietly, returning his gaze to the floor. Gaz put a hand on his shoulder, but he kept his head down.

"Believe me, this isn't some rag tag rebellion; we have a plan." Gaz began, earning a slight look of optimism from K'hol. She went on explaining everything that had transpired in the past weeks of her capture and how she escaped with Zim, the now ex-general of the empire. She elucidated the plan and its careful tactics, how each chosen planet would quickly be under the rebel control and then with the combined efforts of the captive aliens, outnumbering and defeating the Irkens upon the Massive would lead them to a straight victory. Throughout the explanation K'hol sat silently listening tentatively to the Earth teen's astute words. Indeed, this was no 'rag tag' plan as she had put it. It was well thought out and constructive; she knew what she was doing. He definitely had confidence in this plan, and when she mentioned 'weapons' and 'weaknesses', he finally knew his niche in the plan.

"Ahhh," he said rather arrogantly, "I know just what you want…" Gaz lifted an eyebrow in question, but waited for him to finish nonetheless. "You are in need of weapons are you not?" he asked snobbishly. She didn't approve of the tone, but she ignored it and simply nodded. He nodded once and then smiled as he folded his hands together and crossed his leg. _What a rather arrogant behavior, _she thought as the grey alien smiled in pleasure. "You might not know this," he started, "but Vortians are actually superior to Irkens intellectually. That's why our planet is used for creating superior technology; why they make us work. They are; however, superior militarily, which is why our planet, despite our advancement in technology, was taking over by those brutes." He took a moment of pause and Gaz didn't know if it was for dramatic effect, or he didn't know where to continue. "Everyday thousands of Vortians like myself are forced to construct and test vile weapons in order to supply them to the Irken race for further conquest. Our superior intellect has allowed us to know the inside and outside of everything we have constructed. From the weapons the Irkens hold, to the buildings that everyone on the planet sleeps in. We know everything, about them…see where I'm getting at?" he explained thoroughly and it took Gaz a moment to add the information together.

"So, you can control the power supply to everything? Weapons? Vehicles? Buildings?" Gaz probed. The Vortian ran a hand around the right horn on his head.

"Control? More like manipulate everything to our will. This is after all _my _home planet, of course I would know how to control it." He said proudly, geez, he was starting to sound as egotistical as an Irken. Yet something had been puzzling Gaz through the conversation.

"So you can control everything, but you still haven't fought back yet?" she said mockingly, getting incredibly annoyed with his haughty tone. His smile faded, and returned to the dejected face he had before. Gaz was almost sorry for mocking him when he had on that doleful look.

"See this?" he pointed to left his forearm where a charcoal, black color was caked on his skin. She nodded, urging him to continue. "When a Vortian is born, a device called a voration is placed on them. It opens and allows us to holographically type a code into the mechanism. It allows a Vortian to build and control objects at such a rapid pace, when the Irkens took over, they strapped us of our vorations and placed them in the central confinement chamber in the core of this facility. They only take out temporary ones for us to use, even if they are not our own, when we work, but quickly strip them away from us when the day is done; or as you saw before, misbehavior…" he stated sadly, rubbing the skin of where the familiar technology used to reside. "If given them back, we could easily manipulate the weapons to our advantage, allowing us to be superior once more to them…but without the key-code, it would be useless to even hope to retrieve our vorations…" he added sadly again, seeing no hope in this plan after all. Gaz pondered everything that was said, it took her only a moment to have an idea appear.

"Don't worry, I will get the key code, you just listen. Get as many Vortians as you can and meet my associates and I about three hours after the facility closes, understood?" she asked seriously. K'hol perked up and realized that this was really happening; he would finally be free after so many years of being conquered. He smiled and nodded furiously, extending his four fingered hand out to Gaz. _Whether its three, four, or five, it still means the same,_ she thought to herself, meeting her hand out to his.

*0*

"Did you enjoy your look around when I took care of everything?" Zeena asked the 'colonels' as they stopped chatting and turned to her.

"Oh, yes, what a marvelous facility you have…" Dib said nervously rubbing the back of his neck. Gaz wanted to punch him, but kept her hands to her side.

"We are very impressed with the marvelous testing going on here, I'll have to inform the general and ask him to visit sometime." Gaz noted, masking the true intentions beneath the act. Zeena's orange eyes grew wide and she internally did a victory dance. _Promotion for the win!_ She exclaimed in her mind and continued to lead them through the tour.

Gaz had spoken to the team and she was disappointed to know that they had received no info on anyone, go figure, but Gaz told them of K'hol and how successful this plan was going to turn out, all she had to do was find out the key-code. Should be simple right? Gaz sighed mentally and tried to inconspicuously drop hints into asking about the key code, to which Zeena was completely oblivious to. She even went so far to ask about the vorations, and even then Zeena only gave her answers to which Gaz already knew. By the time the tour was over Gaz wanted to rip her hair out, but then a blaring sound called throughout the building.

"Oh, well would you look at that, it's closing time! Oh, colonel Gaz, you seemed very interested with the vorations, would you like to see the process in which we confine them?" Seena asked politely. Gaz swore she heard an angelic choir sing.

"Yeeeeeesss." She said almost breathlessly, earning a few stares from the group. "I mean, yes, uh, yes we would be delighted." She added with a death glare to her partners' strange eyes. They avoided eye contact and Zeena began leading them to a strange passage where she saw many Vortians line up to return their used vorations. She saw Zeena approach a large screen with a slot underneath it. Zeena quickly rummaged through her pocket and took out what appeared to be a mechanical chip. Gaz watched intently as Zeena reached the chip into the slot and then the screen flashed a series of red numbers; a seven digit code. In about two seconds, the numbers disappeared, but Gaz's trained mind hand quickly absorbed the information, who said being a scientist's daughter was useless…or _had been_ a scientist's daughter…_No, don't think of that, just focus on the numbers_, Gaz scolded herself. _8…8…8…6…3…9…2,_ she remembered, repeating the sequence in her head over and over.

_8…8…8…6…3…9…2_

She saw the chrome doors roar in response; rumbling as they opened. The large room was filled with neglected vorations and Gaz watched as Irken soldiers painfully tore the mechanisms from each of the captives' arms and throwing them carelessly into the room. Gaz felt pity for those who suffered through this emotional torture; having an object that was with you since birth be used by someone else and discarded into the room every day, it must be horrible. It reminded her of her mother and her father; her pain…She shook her head.

_8…8…8…6…3…9…2_

"Has a chip like that have ever been lost before?" Gaz questioned rather quickly, surprising the orange eyed Irken female. Zeena smiled; however, and cleared her throat.

"Why no, they have never been lost, but even if this was the case, the pad is also a keypad, but only superior officers of the planet such as myself have this information closely guarded." She said proudly; smirking. Gaz raised an eyebrow. _Seriously, _she wondered, _is this just too easy or what?_

_8…8…8…6…3…9…2_

*o*

"8…8…8…6…3…9…2" Gaz said out loud as she typed it into the keypad on the wall, and just like it had previously, the chrome doors roared as they opened. The Votians quickly passed her, about twenty of them, reaching into the piles of vorations hoping to find their own.

"How will they ever hope to find them?" Zita asked as she stood next to Gaz; K'hol simply chuckled.

"We Vortians have an emotional connection to these instruments; do not underestimate our detection…skills." He stated wordlessly as he carefully approached one of the chrome mechanisms. He picked it up gently out of a pile of hundreds of the vorations. He looked at it longly and smoothed a finger over the metal; it suddenly sprang to life and it opened; claming itself of his left forearm. He watched in awe as a neon blue keypad opened, just begging to be touched.

"Yours?" he heard Gaz's voice come from behind him.

"Yeah." He said happily, typing rapidly on the keyboard. Suddenly, the lights in the building completely shut down, only after a few seconds of girly screaming from Torque did it turn back on.

"What was that?" Zita muttered, shaking the big jock off her leg.

"Sorry, but I shut down the entire town's power supply, including this building, but after typing in a few new algorithms, I reactivated the light in this building only." He said quickly, his voice filled with excitement.

"Someone's a little trigger, or should I say typing happy." Gaz smiled noticing that all of the Vortians appeared to have their vorations back. K'hol smirked and tossed her an instrument that resembled a gun; typing in some strange series of keys and the gun began to glow a vibrant green. "My favorite color…" she whispered, remembering Zim. She smiled at the thought, but quickly got back to the situation at hand. "We're going to need more of these…" she stated sarcastically, to which K'hol laughed loudly.

"I was hoping you'd say that!" he commented, tears filling his eyes.

*o*

Zeena cried out in effort as she dodged a green beam coming from behind her. She had been peacefully going over futures plans with her collegues when the power in the city had completely shut down; what she had thought was some kind of fluke turned disastrous as she saw the "colonels" along with twenty or so Vortians attacking the city, calling the people to rebel. She thought it would be easy to detain them, but then when her best soldiers tried to fire their weapons, they discovered them to be deactivated by the use of Vortian vorations! She began to whimper as she hopped into a hovercraft, hoping to get away from this madness and call for help. She typed in the ignition sequence, but it would not budge. She whined fearfully and looked back; her orange eyes widening from seeing the destruction behind her, as well as a violet haired girl approaching closer at an alarming rate. She ferociously typed the sequence again and again, praying to the Irken gods that the vehicle would start. _Come on, plllleeeeeaaassseeeeee!_ She begged in her mind, typing it in once more. The vehicle than turned on and she made a sound of happiness as she began to hover away, but to her disappointment, she looked back; seeing a grey skinned alien type something in his voration, and the vehicle came to a halt.

"No!" Zeena exclamimed in despair as the vehicle ceased to move; frantically typing in the launch sequence once more. A loud bang came from her side and she saw amber eyes meet her orange ones. She felt a strong hand grab her and toss her out of the vehicle. Zeena watched all around her as more soldiers were defeated by inferior races, all because their weapons had been disabled, _so much for a promotion_, Zeena though comically, before a weapon known as the Vaporizer S800 was pointed to her face and she cowered into the ground, looking up at the violet haired teen. "W-why are you doing this?!" Zeena asked in a terrified tone. The figure mulled it over.

"For love." She finally said.

"Ohhh, Brava Gaz dear, simply _revolting_." A familiar voice penetrated the golden sky. Gaz froze at the voice, realizing in an instant who it was. She turned around harshly, pointing the gun straight at the figure in the Voot Crusier 8.7. Gaz gulped as she realized in horror that the sky was completely filled with the ships, awaiting orders from their leader; their dark purple eyed, curly antennae leader.

"Tak…" Gaz growled; pointing the gun straight at her through the open cockpit.

"Careful," she warned as a light blue beam of light began streaming down, capturing a scythe-haired boy in the powerful beam, "or your brother is the first to be destroyed." Gaz watched in horror as her brother panicked, his cries of fear echoing through the quiet sky. She gasped, but stood her ground.

"K'hol!" she shouted to her left.

"Right!" the Vortian answered, rapidly typing at the mechanism on his arm. After a few seconds the Vortian was finished and looked up to see what his actions had done…nothing. Scared, he typed the code in again, and again, yet nothing was occurring. Sweat began to pour down from his face and Gaz was growling.

"K'hol!" she screamed at him.

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" he whined like a child, typing the code in again. Gaz only heard a malicious laugh to sound through the sky as K'hol's attempts to disable the ships around them failed.

"Pathetic beings, these ships are entirely Irken made! No Vortian technology whatsoever…" she giggled as she saw the fear in Gaz's eyes grow. "You know," she added, "you should really learn about military tactics more, or else you would have known about our superior cloaking devices that make us undetectable…" Gaz felt her confidence in the situation falter, but she didn't want to give in. She had to stand her ground…for Zim!

Tak stared face to face with the dark haired male in front of her. His dark brown eyes peered back at her through his spectacles. Her cheeks grew emerald I complexion as she remembered how humiliating it was to be in that _horrible_ situation; practically _begging_ for him to kill her when he trapped her in the middle of her tent. His last words to her still screamed through her mind: _"Because I know that keeping you alive is worse than death to you."_ He had said. The same words repeated over and over. That voice that engulfed her mind and filled her with such a putrid feeling!

"…_worse than death to you."_

Yes, he had been right! She didn't want to admit it, but the pathetic worm baby was right! Even though her Tallests were not disappointed, though she was the general, though she had everything she wanted, she still wanted to die. Die, and stop this _feeling_ from intoxicating her completely. This _retched feeling_! She wanted to empty out her stomach contents (if she had a stomach). She hated being alive!

"…_worse than death…"_

She loathed him! Despised him! It was his fault! She had hated him for that reason, for keeping her alive, keeping her alive and giving him this _repulsive feeling!_

"What have you done to me!?" she shrieked suddenly and violently at him; pressing a button that powered the weapons below the ship. Dib's confused eyes went wide and he began to panic. Gaz knew that she had to act fast, or else her brother would be blown to smithereens. Though she wanted to be brave, though she wanted to fight and not give up, she had no choice.

She dropped the gun.

"Wait!" Gaz shouted to Tak, whose dark eyes burned hatefully from her brother from down to her. "Stop, please I surrender, just don't hurt him!" she begged. Tak's features softened and she quickly shut the weapons on the ship off. She let her breathing return to normal then smiled evilly.

"Do you swear to come with us, and return to the Massive?" Tak asked with her malicious grin plastered on her face. Gaz nodded once.

"Gaz, no!" Dib shouted.

"Yes, but you must swear to not harm Dib, or any of my friends…" she added seriously to Tak, not trusting her. Tak pretended to think for a moment.

"You have my word…" she stated blatantly, then allowed the beam that had captured Dib to shut off, having the scythe haired boy land hard on the ground. He let out a cry of pain as he hit the ground. Gaz ran over to him quickly, making sure he was alright; he was, but the wind was knocked out of him.

"Gaz…" he wheezed out, "no…" Tak then swooped down in her ship, since the cockpit was open; she roughly grabbed the violet haired girl without even leaving the Cruiser. Gaz winced in pain as the grip on her wrist was quickly released.

"Alright men, back to the main ship!" Tak ordered the other ships around her; the whooping Irkens were excited to go and eat snacks as a celebration. Tak closed the cockpit, regrettably looking back once to see Dib staring out to them, shouting his little sister's name. _Pitiful human, _she thought, ignoring the pain she felt in her chest. Gaz also looked to see her brother's sad eyes and she knew that this wasn't what she wanted, none of this should have ever happened. She began to wonder to herself if this was all worth it; a question peered in her mind: was falling in love with Zim really worth all this?

*0*

And so here she was strapped to the table; her questions flooding her mind. If she had never met Zim, wouldn't she still have her father? Her home? Her annoying brother? If she had never met Zim, would it have been better? The question made her ill. She _loved_ Zim, she really did, and would give anything to be with him, even now in this horrible situation; she knew that she didn't regret a single moment that they shared together. From that rainy night, to the endless sunsets he spent with her, she didn't regret even the smallest moment from it. It didn't matter if all was hopeless, as long as she remembered all those wonderful moments she had with Zim, she knew she would be able to survive and live on. As long as those memories remained intact, she couldn't give up, not id she wanted her dream to become a reality; to have that dream, of her and Zim, living peacefully together, as one.

**A/N: Woah, can't get anymore serious than that! (REVIEW GUYS!) And what is up with Tak? She really needs a therapist or something, does being the General of the Irken Empire cover that?**


	9. Captured

**A/N: Short, Boring, Filler**

Just breaking through Nhar-Gh'Ok's atmosphere, Zim mentally scolded himself as he fumbled with the controls of the ship. His squiddly-spooch was pumping ferociously and he tried breathing normally to desperately stop his incessant shaking. Fear poured out from every pour on his green skin as the horrid dream of his beloved ran through his mind. _I won't let that happen!_ He assured himself; his antennae wobbling in dread. His ruby orbs darted across the endless bounds of the starry universe; trying to spot Tak and her fleet: it wasn't hard to find. Zim suppressed a gasp as few hundred of ships and a colossal commanding ship sat just outside the planet's atmosphere. He knew instantly that Tak would be in the commanding ship. He slowly brought his ship closer to the cluster of Irken battleships and held his breath as he passed by most of them while approaching the commanding ship. He let the air escape as he realized he would not be attacked…_yet_. Suddenly, a neon blue light came cascading down over him and his ship, he realized he was being pulled in by the commanding ship and didn't fight it while his ship drew dangerously closer to the large ship. After about a minute of dreaded waiting, the commanding ship's landing dock opened, drawing Zim's ship inside. As soon as his ship was inside, he was surrounded by a number of armed Irkens who growled at him.

"Come out with your hands up!" one demanded forcefully. Zim reached his hand for the door, pulling it; exiting the ship. He slowly put his hands up, but his face was quickly greeted by a rather large ray gun. Zim fumbled from the powerful collision to his jaw, on one knee, he rubbed his jaw and glared up hatefully at the Irken soldier who attacked him. The ray gun was simply shoved closer to his face, a finger already on the trigger. Zim scowled and brought his hands up defensively as he stood up, he felt himself prodded from behind, ushering him forward. The Irkens quietly led him forward and through the ships interior; their footsteps echoing through the large vessel. The maroon interior gleamed beneath the lighting of the ship. After a few minutes of quiet walking, they approached a door which slid open wordlessly and inside Tak sat peacefully on a large Captain's chair; her legs crossed and hands brought together in a rather cliché, but menacing, evil look. Zim gave a look in disgust and Tak simply scoffed off his childish look. Her evil smile revealed her sharp dagger-like teeth and snapped her fingers. Quickly Zim was shoved down to his knees, to which he grunted in pain

"Cuff him." Tak ordered. Suddenly two soldiers tackled Zim and roughly took a pair of laser cuffs on his wrists. Tak chuckled darkly and ordered the soldiers away, leaving Zim, herself, and her two guards in the control room. Tak quickly rose from her luxurious chair and strode over to Zim, reaching her arm back, thrusting her fist straight into his stomach, to which he coughed violently. Tak let out a contented sigh, "That was for being an idiot." She stated calmly; then grabbing his antennae with celerity and slamming his head into the metallic wall. "And that was because I hate you." She added with equal calmness.

"Where's Gaz?" he spat, literally spitting in her direction. She winced at the action and slammed her fist onto the side of his face. Her dark purple eyes burned in rage, but she quickly calmed herself and took a deep breath.

"She is well, in the unused medical bay. You're lucky that both your love and the Tallest do not for wish me to kill you, because I would have torn you to pieces by now." She stated darkly. Zim didn't argue with her logic. "You'll be happy to know that I've also taken up your job as general of the Irken Empire." She said with a fake sweet smile.

"What do you want of me?" he asked the evil Irken in front of him, interrupting her happy thoughts. Her faux smile melted into a hateful glare, a quick buzz of electricity zapped between her eyes.

"Well, I want to destroy you, but Tallest Red seems insistent on keeping you alive…for now…" she said in a quiet, yet menacing way. She backed away and went to sit back into her chair and stared hatefully at Zim from across the room. "But what should I do with you till then?" Tak wondered, tapping her chin in thought. After an eerie moment of silence she turned to the guard on her left. "You can put him where the Earth female is, be sure to put him on the other side of the room though, I like to know that not being able to touch her crushes him." She said, urging her soldiers to move quickly. They took Zim and dragged him out the door, leaving Gaz alone in the confines of the control room. She spun the chair around and pressed a large orange button which turned on the intercom. "Men, set coordinates for the Massive, we're returning to the Tallests." As she removed her finger from the button she felt the ship physically turn away from Nhar-Gh'Ok and begin its journey back to the Massive. Tak began to silently think to herself like she did often, but once her thoughts drifted to images of the tall scythe haired boy, her chest twinged in pain. She growled violently to herself and reached her hand to her chest, where she bunched the material in her hand and continued to hatefully seethe. "Pathetic human…" she mumbled, irritated by this strange feeling.

*o*

Zim was overjoyed to see his love was unharmed, but remembered their situation when he was violently tossed into the room, the larger Irken guard cuffing him to a large metallic counter a few feet away from his beloved. He looked into her beautiful amber eyes which glowed with sadness and happiness at the same time. The Irken guards quickly left to return to their post by Tak's side, but not before each of them gave Zim a blow to his sides. Gaz muffled an objection, but the Irken guards just laughed leaving the room.

"Gaz…I…are you alright?" Zim asked worriedly, "If they did anything to you I swear I'll-"

"Mppprhh!" Gaz muffled and Zim realized that she had a gag around her mouth.

"Oh…" he said. He watched her with longing eyes and Gaz couldn't help it, she struggled in the confines of the binds and after about a minute, successfully freed her mouth from the obstructing gag.

"Zim." She said breathlessly. Zim would have given anything to touch her, to comfort her with his warmth. To take her worries away with his lips, but he was confined to this counter and could only speak to her.

"I'm so glad you're safe Gaz…what happened?" he asked. Gaz looked at him from the side, her features went forlorn and she sighed in sadness.

"Tak got to us before we could take the planet over…we were so close, but Tak beat us…you?"

"At least you were close," he commented, "nobody was willing to fight on Nhar-Gh'Ok; they told me that they had no fight left in them, that it was all hopeless. That _we _were hopeless…"

"Do you really believe that?" she asked silently, Zim raised a nonexistent eyebrow in question. "Do you believe that we were hopeless? Even from the beginning?" she probed.

"What are you going on about human?" he asked suspiciously. Gaz's eyes filled with tears and they gently ran down her face, causing Zim's insides to clinch painfully.

"I meant do you think that we should have never met?!" she questioned painfully, her voice hoarse from yelling. Zim's eyes went wide and he stared at the crying woman before him, the woman he loved. How could she ever think that he believed that?

"Of course not!" he shouted at her, "Gaz, I would rather break every single Irken bone in my body then live a millisecond without you…Gaz, I…I love you…even now when everything seems hopeless, I don't regret anything, because I had you…because I love _you_." He said calmly, his words full of passion and sadness. Gaz's tears continued to flow at the beauty of his words.

"I love you too…" she said softly, "I wish you could hold me…"

"That makes two of us…" he answered back to which she giggled at his comment. Her tears began to dry up, but it didn't stop the pain from filling her chest. As she stared at her green warrior, she took in all his beauty and mustered up a sad smile.

"Is this the end? Am I to be Red's mate while you are sentenced to death?" she wondered out loud. If Zim was free, he would have taken her chin in his hand and forced her to look at him.

"No," he said calmly, "I believe you specifically instructed Zim not to die, and as long as Zim is alive, you are no one's mate but mine." He said with a genuine smile. Gaz looked at her Irken in astonishment, but was calmed by his words. She smiled and she nodded and for the first time in a long time, she felt at peace.

**A/N: Short. Boring. Filler. REVIEW PLEASE! **


	10. Losing it

**A/N: WOOP AN UPDATE FINALLY! **

Red impatiently paced around the Massive's throne room; his blood red garments sharply moving with each stride. Purple watched him nervously from his own throne; his features full of worry; Red was mumbling to himself, though, most of it illegible even for a skilled linguist. Purple was stricken with worry, Red had been getting worse since Tak left to go find Zim and the human female. At first it was just stress induced anger, then it developed into an antennae twitching rage, filled with insanity. Red had already mutilated twelve service drones, earning them a trip to the medical bays. Purple had noticed that even the slightest question could set off the red Irken. His antennae twitched in anxiety and his incoherent mumbling was getting louder. All the purple clothed Irken could make out was, 'Gaz', 'will find', and 'mine'. And it appeared that he was repeating whatever he was saying over and over again like some sort of bizarre mantra. Purple wouldn't deny it any longer, Red was frightening him and his infatuation and obsession with the human female was driving him to the bowels of insanity, and he knew it wasn't healthy. His greatest friend was turning into another Irken entirely, one more violent and cruel. _My friend, where have you gone?_ Purple thought to himself in complete muddle.

A rapid series of beeps resounded throughout the throne room and both Red and Purple were shaken from their thoughts. Red froze in his tracks and panted like a crazed animal as another Irken entered the room. The small, stout Irken with apple green eyes with long antennae briskly, yet carefully approached the Tallests, bowing quickly.

"My Tallests," he announced with slight hesitation, fearing a similar fate to the drones, "a transmission from General Tak is coming through." Red's eyes went wide and he took deep, yet rapid breaths. His lips curled into a large, crazed smile as his green hands flew out to the inferior Irken grabbing the Irken's shoulders and shaking him violently.

"What are you waiting for then? Huh? Put. The. Transmission. Through!" he madly foamed, digging his claws into the Irken's skin, causing the small Irken to cry out in pain. Purple stood from his throne in panic and quickly approached his demented red friend, putting a three fingered hand on his right shoulder; only, to his surprise, have it pugnaciously shoved away, making the purple clad Irken lose his footing a bit. When Purple looked at his friend, he saw his eyes were glowing a horrible and dark crimson, his eyes were filled with deranged anger and his frightening appearance caused Purple to take a step back in fear. Red saw that flash of fear and realized what he had done. The crazed look didn't leave, but he released the small Irken from his terrifying grasp. The Irken quickly left. Both Tallests were silent as Purple's growing fear was becoming more apparent the longer that mad look stared at him. A few more beeps were heard and a maroon screen descended from the ceiling, eventually coming to a halt. The screen flashed a few times before an image of a smiling Tak filled the screen. Red smiled widely at the dark purple-eyed Irken on the screen. He had to suppress his urge to rapidly breathe in excitement. He found her. He found her! "What is it that you wish to report Tak?" he asked with a crazed giggle.

*0*

Tak had sat in her leading seat in the control room, looking at her transmission screen. Tak had been excited to speak again with Tallest Red, she knew that he would be impressed and pleased with her report and she couldn't wait to give it, yet when she saw her Tallest, the smile that had once been on her face disappeared and was replaced with a stone-cold, dispassionate expression. She looked him over; his tattered appearance put her off. His antennae were twitching in anticipation and his smile was incredibly menacing. His crimson clothing was disheveled and it appeared that he hadn't been keeping his hygiene up. He looked like a caged animal looking at a piece of meat, but it wasn't his exterior that put her off; it was his eyes. She observed the unusual glow of madness in them; the crimson color was filled with crazed anticipation. They held such an insane malevolence to them that she physically shuddered. He looked, in a plain word, insane. This wasn't the Red that she was expecting.

"Greetings my Tallests…" she attempted to say normally, yet a slight hint of nervousness had sneaked out, "I am pleased to report that we have succeeded in capturing the human female and the traitorous Zim." She saw Red nod slowly.

"And their associates?" he asked, his smile now fading, his crazed look now becoming void of any emotion.

"They have been left to the mercy of the Irkens inhabiting Vort." She explained calmly, "And we are now en-route to the Massive." Tak was skilled at hiding her emotions, but when she saw the rapid change in Red's expression, she felt that she might have been noticed, and for the first time in her life she experienced a new, strange emotion: fear. Red nodded slowly again.

"Good," he said dispassionately, "Be sure you get here in a timely fashion, I've grown lonely since my mate has left me…" there was a long pause filled with awkward silence, and Tak could tell that there was tension in the air; her squiddly spooch sped up, and she reached for the end transmission switch.

"What do you think of me, Tak?" Red suddenly queried in the same monotone-like voice. Tak froze, her eyes still glued to the switch. She felt her squiddly spooch pump faster, yet unlike other times, this time it was out of fear. A while ago she could have said that he was the greatest Tallest who ever lived, that he was unmatched against any other Irken, that he captivated her and that she longed for his approval…that she even…yet now as she stared at the switch, one of her gloved finger frozen on it, she just couldn't get the words out, because she was afraid. Because now she began to do what an Irken should never do: to doubt a Tallest. "Tak?" Red reinforced, bringing her out of her trance, an inaudible gasp escaping her lips. She looked back to the screen of her Tallest, his features low with no trace of emotion. She could practically hear her squiddly spooch beat violently in her ears, and she took a moment to steady her sudden uneven breathing.

"You are a magnificent Tallest, one the Empire hasn't seen in a long time, it is a great honor to be in your service." She said in a slight bow. She looked back up to her Tallest on the screen; his head now slightly leaned to the left. He slowly blinked and then silently cleared his throat.

"I suppose then I shall see you when you return to the Massive," he replied impassively, "good work…End transmission." With that Tak quickly flicked the switch, and those crimson eyes finally disappeared. She finally released a breath that she didn't know she was holding and panted softly, those insane eyes still haunting her. She felt pathetic for giving in to such a useless emotion, but she couldn't stop the fear that was growing with every second. Red had been a completely different Irken, and this new frightening one was disturbed. She didn't know why, but she couldn't get rid of the fear, nor could she try to imagine the old Red whom she completely adored. Because she didn't adore him anymore, she didn't even know him anymore…

*0*

At first Red was completely excited to hear from Tak, but that crazed excitement was replaced easily when he detected her nervousness. She tried to hide it, but no being in the universe can hide the fear in their eyes, and Red knew Tak was afraid. The Irken whom he knew was in love with him now feared him. He had seen it in Purple too, they both feared him. It was the same with the drones as well! The fear they held in their eyes angered him. He knew what they were thinking! They think that Red is losing it! That this obsession with retrieving what is his is making him insane! Well, they don't know a damn thing! He was starting to lose the trust of the most useful Irkens around him and he knew that they would never be able to trust him again…

_I won't need them,_ he thought to himself as he went to his royal bedroom, _once I have my Gaz, I will dispose of them all…_

**A/N: Hmm, things are getting interesting, no? Oh my glob, Tak is having second thoughts, what is gonna happen?**


	11. It Has To Stop

**A/N: Yay a chapter, and it's 3 A.M. **

Zim sat uncomfortably on the metallic floor, his hands still cuffed to the chrome counter, just a few feet away from Gaz; his love. He admired her tremendous beauty as she slept; her voluminous violet hair framing her face perfectly, even in the disorganized pattern of sleep; her pale face now void of emotion in her slumber. She looked so…peaceful…He gave a light smile at that, peacefulness. It was something that neither of them had had in a long time, and to be able to see it on her made his squiddly spooch swell in happiness. For the moment, there was no worry, no hurt or pain, no fear; just peace. Though, she was bound to the ancient medical table, it seemed as though nothing had occurred; that it was as if she was still on Earth, before she even met him. She had asked if he ever regretted meeting her, and he hadn't, what he regretted was betraying her; bringing the Irken Armada to Earth and destroying her life. It seemed so foolish to him now, how could he have been persuaded by such lies? He sighed. It wasn't wise to dawn on the past now, especially during such a troublesome time. The problematic situation that they both found themselves in was difficult to comprehend. Zim searched for a means to escape, looking around the outdated medical bay for some sort of object or clue that could give them their freedom. Though his ruby orbs had searched every millimeter of space in the room, there was nothing in his or Gaz's reach to assist them.

They were trapped.

Trapped and being taken to that vicious Red, whose power has now been tainted with corruption of such lust. Zim of course feared the worse in this direful situation, he knew that after what happened, Red wouldn't possibly let him live, at least for long. Knowing Red, he knew that he would be put under the most unspeakable of tortures, not to mention the tortures that would befall him if Red decided, and he most likely would, to show off Gaz to him and dirty her with his gruesome touch. Zim growled inwardly at the thought of Red touching her, Zim's anger for the red Irken grew when his thoughts drifted to more foul acts. _If he even dares to taint my Gaz's purity, I will eliminate that bastard!_ Zim thought to himself, still seething. When those thoughts cleared up, Zim laid his head to rest on the counter, taking in a breath, slightly uncomfortable in these horrid cuffs. Zim couldn't stop but think about Gir and Minimoose, how they sacrificed themselves for him to escape, loyal servants…no _friends_ to the end. A sad smile formed on Zim's green face, sighing in equal sadness. How many were going to get hurt because of this endeavor of his? No doubt the Vortians were being charged with treachery and put through the harshest of punishments, and what of the other humans, Dib and the others? Surely they were being punished as well, perhaps being tortured. It was true, ever since this whole "invader" business started; he had only hurt people; hurt and was responsible for thousands of possible deaths. At first, he had felt no remorse for the damages he had cost, but now, he couldn't escape the tremendous feeling of guilt that flooded his system. He felt great sadness for those who were being affected negatively by his selfish actions; about the lives he had destroyed. Some say it's better to hurt people you don't know because it's easier to do; that no guilt comes back at you, yet even now, though Zim knew no one that he had affected besides a few, he felt an overwhelming feeling of melancholy. It had to stop.

Zim didn't want any more innocent beings getting hurt anymore; he realized that there truthfully wasn't any escape. If he and Gaz just kept running, more and more beings would be put under the sword, figuratively speaking. Their lives would be in danger; even being in contact with either of them would result in tragic consequences. It wouldn't matter if they escaped now, no matter where they go, no matter what galaxy or planet, Red would track them down and find them, killing anyone in his path, and Zim wasn't going to let that happen, not anymore. He looked over back at Gaz, gazing into her stunning face once again, another sad smile forming.

He knew what he needed to do.

*0*

"We shall arrive at the Massive in five hours, general!" a small, and slightly round Irken soldier informed Tak as she sat in the ship's captain chair. For a moment, the information zoomed over her head, yet when the foolish Irken tried to repeat himself, she snapped at him.

"I read you loud and clear soldier, you may LEAVE now!" she barked, frightening the Irken soldier. He retreated from the room, leaving Tak alone to the onslaught of her mind's inner thoughts. She was angry, no completely vehement in her thoughts. All she could think about was Zim and his putrid lover! She despised them, loathed them, she couldn't stop thinking about how horrible they were. She detested them because of how they acted toward each other. They both were stupidly enamored with each other! She hated the fact that they were able to express such terrible, yet amazing emotions. It wasn't fair! All her life she had worked and worked to become an elite soldier to impress Tallest Red, and now, she feared the very Irken that she had desired! But the tiny Earth child wins the affection of the one she desires without even lifting a finger! Tak growled loudly and slammed her right fist into the seat's arm rest. She breathed a few huffed breaths and her total hatred for the two became sadness. She was jealous that they shared each other's affections while, hers not only went unnoticed, but now she started to fear to have any contact with the red dressed leader. Her once angered dark purple eyes softened into direful ones. She slumped in the seat, feeling empty, alone.

She closed her eyes.

She only saw darkness…no wait, there was something. Slowly, Tak saw light come through her blind vision, a strange flash of light flashed through; almost like spectacles. Tak's blurred vision began to clear and she saw a figure in the strange light. She tried hard to focus the blurry manifestation that her mind conjured up. She took deep breaths and she finally could make out some details. Black trench coat, black shoes, scythe like hair, wait, _scythe like hair?_ Suddenly the image cleared and a manifestation of Dib smiled softly at her. The sudden image frightened her and Tak quickly opened her eyes, looking around the room to make sure no one was in there with her; there wasn't. Tak's mini panic attack subsided, and she laid back her head in the chair, he cheeks still flush with the hint of emerald.

**A/N: I know short chapter even though I made you guys wait so long, I have no excuse, burn me at the stake. T^T**


End file.
